Finding Acceptance
by Chaytons Angel
Summary: This is my version of Kara Beckworth, the youngest known survivor of a werewolf attack, and how her life changes when wolves are made public and she and her parents relocate to Aspen Creek. It is intertwined with the story of SeoHyun Lee-Cornick, an OC created by Imaginationqueen87, as they are best friends. Hidden Hearts kicks it off and there are sequels. Go read em!
1. Chapter One

**A/N:** All cannon characters and settings belong to the brilliant mind of Patricia Briggs. The rest comes solely from my imagination. This is written merely for my own pleasure and the pleasure of others. Also, I tend to get long-winded, so some of my chapters may be long, no, not may be, will be. You have been warned.

 **P.S.** I have decided to start this off by giving Kara a bit of a back story since PB didn't delve into that in the books, and I am tying this story in with Imaginationqueen87's OC SeoHyun, who's story begins with Hidden Hearts and continues in Snow Trouble and Little Things. It may seem odd since I have my own story where Kara is friends with my OC, Juliana, in Ties That Bind, but that's the point. I've already given her 'life' there, but that story is more about Jules and her relationship with her adoptive parents, Charles and Anna, her relationship with her grandfather, Bran, and her budding relationship with Cole. I feel Kara needs her own tale and this way she gets it without taking a backseat to Juliana's journey.

********************A&O********************

Living in rural areas wasn't for everyone. There were a lot of people who needed the big city to be happy. For ten year old Kara Beckworth, living in rural Virginia was like living in paradise. She loved the outdoors, loved being able to go jump in the creek near their house whenever she wanted to. Well, as long as it wasn't winter. And she loved roaming through the woods whenever it was warm enough out to do so. Like today. The sun beat down on her warmly as she wandered. Her daddy always teased her about her ability to wander in the woods and never get lost. He called her his little wood sprite.

She was on her way back home because mommy would be making lunch soon when she heard something moving in the dense underbrush not far from her. Whatever it was, it sounded big and Kara froze. She knew they had bears in their area, even though she'd never actually seen one, and she knew they could get really angry if they thought you were a threat, especially if it was a female bear with cubs. She heard a snarl, which told her it wasn't a bear because they didn't snarl, and then something came at her. Kara screamed and tried to run but the monster was faster than she was. She felt teeth and claws tearing at her and screamed again before blackness swallowed her and there was no more pain. Her last thought was of her mommy and daddy and how sad they were going to be now.

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She should have died in the woods, but she didn't. A man saved her, he killed the monster and carried her home to her mommy and daddy. They cried when he told them what happened and looked... scared, and Kara didn't understand why. She was okay, why were they so scared? The man and her daddy talked in hushed tones before he left and her mommy took her to the bathroom so she could take a bath. She fell asleep again not long after that and when she woke up she was hungrier than she'd ever been in her young life. Kara was confused when her daddy told her she wouldn't be going to school anymore, her mommy was going to teach her at home instead. But she didn't ask why because he seemed so worried about something and she didn't want to upset him.

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When the stranger who brought his little girl home told him she'd been attacked by a werewolf, and since she was healing instead of being dead, it meant she would be one too, John Beckworth thought he was crazy. Then he showed John a small bit of what he, himself, was, and it convinced John. The stranger, who's name happened to be Josef Riddlesback, told him of the risks and how to keep him and his wife safe when Kara was forced to shift with the full moon. John soundproofed a room in the basement and bolted a cage into the cement floor, one that would be big enough for Kara to be comfortable in, and then on the full moon, he locked her away.

********************A&O********************

The first full moon after her attack arrived and Kara didn't understand why her daddy was taking her to the basement. She had her arms wrapped loosely around his neck as he carried her and she felt tension in his body. "What's wrong, daddy?" she asked. When he stepped into the room and closed the door she started to get scared. "Daddy?" Her fear turned to terror when he opened the cage door. She clung to him in terror but even though she was a werewolf, which meant she was stronger than most ten year old children, she was still just a child.

John hated what he had to do because he knew his little girl didn't understand. "I'm sorry pumpkin, this is the only way to keep everyone safe. You only have to be in here until morning and I promise I'll let you out then." He forced her into the cage and locked it. Her eyes had changed color and he swallowed. "I promise I'll explain everything to you tomorrow, Kara," he said and left, closing the door behind him.

"Daddy, don't go.. don't leave me. Daddy!" Kara screamed as the door closed and kept screaming it until she was suddenly wracked with pain that turned her screams of fear into screams of pain. An agonizing half an hour later a small wolf pup stood where a small child had huddled not long ago. She collapsed in the cage and panted. Her ears shifted when the door opened but she didn't have the strength to even look up. A plate of raw meat was put in the cage and she finally lifted her head to whine at her father. The fear she saw on his face, smelled rolling off him, made her curl into a tight ball.

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For three years that was what her life consisted of. After the first few months her father got a collar and chain for her as well, because when he tried to put food in the cage for her she would growl at him and he was worried she'd attack him. She was the monster now and her parents feared her. It damaged their relationship, damaged her sense of self, and though she kept it all locked inside, Kara was spiraling into a deep depression.

When she was thirteen werewolves were exposed to the world. Only a few months before that she'd snapped and tried to kill herself, partly because she wanted to die, and partly because she was afraid she was going to hurt her parents. She'd tried to slit her wrists but the wounds kept closing too quickly, never allowing her to bleed enough for it to do any good.

It was those two events, her trying to kill herself and wolves being exposed to the world, that led to her father seeking, and finding, help for them. Through a series of conversations her father was put in touch with a werewolf named Bran Cornick, who asked to speak with her. "Hello?" Her voice was soft, timid, not because she was submissive but because she was scared.

"It's alright, child. You're not a monster and once you are here we will help you to learn control so you don't have to be afraid anymore," Bran said soothingly. Anyone who could survive being attacked at the tender age of ten had willpower to spare. He knew she would be fine once she learned control.

Those words set her mind, her fears, to rest. Not long after that single conversation Kara found herself packing up everything she owned to leave rural Virginia behind. She didn't know what to expect when she got to Aspen Creek. She didn't know what was waiting for her there. The only thing she did know, for certain, was that in Aspen Creek, Montana she would finally have a pack and the man with the soothing voice would be there.

********************A&O********************

Kara watched out the window as her father drove their Ford Escape into the small town of Aspen Creek. They'd almost missed the turnoff to the town, the sign for it was so small and nondescript. There didn't appear to be much of a town. A motel, a school, a gas station/post office combination, and a church. She knew there had to be more to it but she didn't see much more. It wasn't all that different from where she'd been born; Goshen, Virginia, population 360. Aspen Creek was all rural too, the difference was there were more trees and mountains and less fields here.

John maneuvered them out of town itself, following the directions he'd been given, until they finally reached their destination. The house was large but then he figured it probably needed to be. "Are you ready to do this?" he asked his daughter. He glanced at her and was puzzled. This was the happiest he'd seen her since the attack.

Kara nodded. "Yeah." She was anxious and nervous but at the same time she was happy. This was a place to finally belong. A place where she wasn't the only one like her, a place where she could hopefully learn what she needed to learn so her parents would stop being afraid of her all the time.

********************A&O********************

Bran Cornick did not look like much. He looked for all the world like a college student. It was a look he'd perfected over the years and it was deceptive as hell. What better way to keep people guessing than by not being exactly what they were expecting? He stood on his porch as the Ford Escape pulled up. There were three people inside, one of them a child, and he was certain this was the Beckworths. He'd made sure his mate wasn't around. He'd sent her to Missoula to shop, one of her most favorite past times. She was often difficult to deal with and the child had already been through enough.

"You must be Mr. And Mrs. Beckworth, which means you are Kara," he said to the girl once the trio reached the porch steps.

"That's right. We're looking for Bran Cornick," John said.

"You've found him. Please, come inside," Bran replied and motioned them into the house. He led them to his study and sat behind his desk. "Please, take a seat," he said, indicating the three chairs in front of the desk. He'd added the third because of Kara; there was usually only two chairs on the other side of his desk. "I'm sure you have questions, I will try to answer them."

John waited until they were seated before he spoke. "Will Kara be safe here? That's the most important thing for us; our daughter's safety."

"Kara is completely safe here, Mr. Beckworth. I give you my word on that. Kara's is a unique situation. Normally if a werewolf hasn't learned control after three years they have to be killed because they will always be a danger. But as I said, Kara's situation is unique. It's unheard of for someone so young to survive the violence that is required for the change to happen. Then she was left to try to understand what was happening to her without the guidance of a pack or even another werewolf. Your daughter's lack of control isn't because she genuinely lacks the ability to control her wolf, it's because she hasn't been taught how to do that. I believe that, given enough time, she will be fine."

John Beckworth felt a weight lift from his shoulders. His daughter would be safe. "Will we have to leave her?" he asked. "Ms. Thompson wasn't sure how to answer that when I asked. She said your biggest concern is the well-being of all werewolves, and Kara is a werewolf, but she's also still a child, so she wasn't sure exactly what would happen."

"Please don't make them go away," Kara said, a sudden spike of fear tinging her voice. "Please don't," she said again and felt tears stinging her eyes.

"Easy pup, I'm not going to make your parents abandon you. Not only would it be cruel, it would also make it harder for you to learn control," Bran told her before he spoke to her parents. "Kara **will** have to stay with a pack member for a few weeks until we're sure she's safe for you and your wife to be around, especially during the full moon. But it's only temporary. I think Sage would be best. She's good with young people."

Bran called her, opting to use the phone because the Beckworths were already shaken up by all that had happened, Kara especially, and he didn't want to make her even more uneasy than she already was by contacting her silently. "We recently had a resident move away, she left the house to the care of the pack. Sage will show you where it is, and where her home is, so you can visit with Kara any time."

********************A&O********************

Sage Carhardt was a tall, slender brunette who could easily strut down the runway if she'd wanted to be a model. But she was happy with her life which included working as a medical transcriptionist from home. And being the eyes and ears in the pack. If something was going on, she was often one of the very first to know about it. As soon as Bran called her she headed to his home. "Hello, hello," she called out as she entered.

"We're in the study," Bran said.

Kara turned as the woman entered. She felt a bit like an ugly duckling with the pretty brunette there.

"Sage, this is Mr. and Mrs. Beckworth and their daughter, Kara. Kara is going to stay with you for a few weeks, until after the full moon, while we work on teaching her control. I need you to help prepare her for the joining ceremony so she knows what to expect tomorrow."

"Sure thing, boss," Sage said with a cheeky smile. "Hey there, Kara. Don't look so glum, it'll be fun. We can watch movies and pig out on junk food."

Kara laughed at that. "You eat junk food?" she asked.

"Of course I do. I have a whole cabinet full of junk food," Sage replied with a grin.

"The Beckworths will be moving into Melanie Ramsey's old house," Bran told her.

"Oh, good choice. It's got a nice yard, a big porch, and it's close to my place so Kara can easily walk back and forth," Sage said with a nod. "Ready to go whenever you're done talking business," she added.

Bran went over a few more things with them and then they were on their way. Sage stopped at the house the Beckworths would be moving into first then on to her own house where she helped Kara get a few of her things inside. She stayed on the porch while Kara said goodbye to her folks.

"Be good and listen to Miss Carhardt, okay? And remember we're not that far away, Kara. You'll be okay and as soon as they're sure it's safe you'll be back home with me and your mother," John said.

"I know daddy. I'll be good, I promise," Kara replied and hugged him around the waist.

"Go on, pumpkin." He hadn't called her that in years, not since that first full moon three years ago. He'd gotten so caught up in keeping what she was hidden, and keeping them all safe, he'd somehow forgotten she was still his little girl.

Kara hung on for a little longer then let him go, gave her mother a hug as well, and then joined Sage on the porch to watch them drive off.

"Come on inside, kiddo. We'll get you settled into the guest room and you can pick out what movies you want to watch tonight."

It wasn't until later that night, after she'd gone to bed, that it really hit her. She wouldn't have to be locked in a cage anymore. She didn't have to be afraid she was going to hurt her parents. She had a place to belong. Tears of relief soaked her pillow as she fell asleep.

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Over the next few weeks leading up to the full moon, the most jarring thing to happen to her was the joining ceremony. There was no way to prepare for the almost painful rush of power that hit her when it was complete. The feeling of connection after it was done was overwhelming and even a few weeks after it was over she still felt a bit overwhelmed by it.

Each day she spent several hours working on her school work with her mother. They'd decided to keep up the home-schooling for the first few weeks until they knew if she'd be able to handle sitting in a classroom. The full moon would give them an indication of that. The rest of the time was spent with one of the other pack members, usually one of the more dominant wolves, working on control. Sometimes it was just Sage, other times there were others with them. A time or two she was with Charles Cornick who both scared her and made her feel safe at the same time. The one she really liked being around was Anna and Sage explained to her why Anna's presence was always so comforting.

The first full moon since she joined the pack arrived and Kara was nervous. Would she lose control like she usually did? Or would it be better this time? Had she learned enough in the last few weeks to help her to not be such a danger to her parents? She was surprised when, a little before sunset, Charles and Anna arrived at Sage's house.

"We're here to help, if it's needed," Anna said gently. "We all know you're scared, because of how bad it's been for you, but it should be a lot easier now with the pack to help you," she added.

Anna's presence calmed her fears and when it was time she undressed and, with hands balled into fists, she waited; waited for the pain to start, waited for the feeling of 'other' to come over her. There was a moment of surprise when the change started because even though it still hurt, she didn't feel like a stranger was stealing her body, that feeling of 'other' was gone. She felt complete and a smile lit up her face before it faded because of the pain and she slowly shifted from human to wolf. When she was done a small brindled wolf pup stood on shaky legs and shook the last tingles from her fur. She made a happy yipping sound and the quartet went out into the night to run and hunt under the light of the moon.


	2. Chapter Two

**A/N:** All cannon characters and settings belong to the brilliant mind of Patricia Briggs. The rest comes solely from my imagination. This is written merely for my own pleasure and the pleasure of others. Also, I tend to get long-winded, so some of my chapters may be long, no, not may be, will be. You have been warned.

 **P.S.** As a result of tying this with Imaginationqueen87's OC, SeoHyun, I had to borrow a few bits of conversation from Hidden Hearts, Chapters 2 and 5, but only pieces of conversation featuring Sage, Kara, and SeoHyun, for the flow of things to work right.

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Two months. That was how long it had been since she came to Aspen Creek. She didn't have complete control of her wolf, she knew it would take a little more time for that, but she had enough to go to school the last couple of weeks leading up to summer. She was looking forward to getting to roam the mountains surrounding them. She'd thought the rural area of Goshen was paradise but she was wrong. This, right here in Aspen Creek, was paradise.

There was only one downside to, well, everything. She was thirteen years old and she was the only one her age who was a werewolf. That meant that even if she went hiking with one of the kids in town she had to be careful. She might be able to go just about anywhere but they couldn't. And talking about the frustration that comes with simply **being** a werewolf? Forget it.

She'd decided to go hang out with Sage, she'd become a bit of a mentor for her, and they were having lunch when she noticed Kara was distracted.

"Alright, Kara, what's got you in a funk?" Sage asked.

Kara sighed. "Just thinking is all. You know, it really sucks being the only one my age who is a werewolf. I can't talk to any of the kids I met at school about it because they wouldn't understand. They all seem to think it's so cool. It just gets a little lonely sometimes, you know?"

Sage nodded. "I do, yeah. I remember growing up in a house full of boys. It's not exactly the same thing, I know, but I felt lonely too. I didn't have anyone to have girl talk with because my mother wasn't in the picture and girls at school only seemed to want to come over so they could flirt with my brothers. If you need to talk, I'll try to understand." _'Sage, your assistance is needed. We have a young wolf that I need you to take in, just for the night, until other arrangements are settled for her.'_ Sage frowned. "Damn. Sorry kiddo, Bran needs me for something," Sage told her.

Kara sighed. "That's my cue to go home. Thanks for letting me hang out here all the time," she said suddenly.

"Hey, you're welcome here any time, you know that," Sage replied as they headed outside. "Want me to drop you off on my way?" she asked.

"No, I think I'll walk. Besides, Bran might get grumpy if you take too long," she said with a laugh.

Sage laughed too. "True. Enjoy your walk, Kara," she said and headed over to Bran's. When she arrived she let herself into the house. "Hello, hello," she called out as she entered. When she found the others she stood there in shock. She assumed by 'young wolf' Bran had meant a newly changed wolf, or maybe one barely of legal age, not another child. Kara had just complained about not having anyone else her own age who was also a werewolf and suddenly there was an even tinier female wolf in Aspen Creek. The most startling thing for her was the way Charles was hovering near the girl as if she was **his** child. "She is so tiny!" She couldn't keep the shock from her voice. Bran quickly filled her in and Sage readily agreed to take SeoHyun to her house for the night. She also did a little digging so Charles and Anna could decorate SeoHyun's room in a way that would make her feel like it really was hers.

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The next day Kara was surprised to get a summons to the Marrok's for a joining ceremony. She hadn't known anyone was joining the pack. Of course it wasn't like anyone was obligated to tell her. Still, she was curious as she made her way to the Marrok's home.

The curiosity stayed with her until she caught sight of a young Asian girl. She was a little shorter than Kara, who was already close to five feet tall, and really petite. After a moment the curiosity gave way to shock and then joy. She wasn't alone. She wasn't the only one who survived as a kid. It was startling, and a bit comforting, to suddenly not feel so alone. Even from across the room she could see how scared the girl was and wondered if she'd looked like that when she was brought into the pack two months ago.

As the ceremony got under way, after a little glitch due to the girl's fear, Kara felt the magic building. It was different from when she was at the center of it, not quite as intense. She knew, however, from experience that even if they'd warned her about it, the girl, SeoHyun, was still going to be surprised by the intensity of it.

Once the ceremony was over Kara let others approach her first, let her take time to adjust, before she too finally approached SeoHyun. "Welcome to the pack," she said with a smile.

"Thank you."

Kara heard the embarrassment in her voice over all the attention and remembered it well. "I'm Kara. Maybe we could get together sometime, get to know each other," she offered.

"That sounds good," SeoHyun replied.

Kara noticed her glance at Charles and Anna as if asking if it was okay and she saw Anna nod while Charles agreed it sounded like a good idea.

"Cool," Kara said with a grin. "Hey, SeoHyun, that weird feeling of being connected to so many wolves get's easier to deal with," she told her knowingly.

"How did you know how I was feeling?" SeoHyun asked.

"I joined the pack about two months ago. It was my first joining too so I remember it. I'll let you get to enjoying all this good food. I'm really glad I'm not the only kid anymore," Kara told her and wandered off. Soon enough the two would become darn near inseparable.

********************A&O********************

It was the start of summer, which was good for SeoHyun since it gave her time to learn control before having to go to school. "You're lucky, sort of, that it happened so close to summer. You have three months to learn control without having to sit in a classroom for eight hours. I got here in time to go the last couple of weeks and it was **horrible** ," Kara said with a mock groan that made her friend giggle.

"It can't be that bad," SeoHyun countered.

"You feel the urge to run. You tell me you could sit still, right now, for eight hours," Kara countered.

"Yeah but... you've been a werewolf longer," SeoHyun said, puzzlement in her voice.

Kara sighed. "Yeah, three years, but it might as well have happened two months ago. We didn't know werewolf packs existed. My daddy had to lock me in a cage every full moon just to keep him and my mom safe. The lone wolf who'd killed the rogue that attacked me never said anything about there being werewolf packs. I was so scared I was gonna hurt someone, and I was so depressed because my folks were scared of me, that I tried to kill myself. And then werewolves were exposed to the world and daddy found someone who helped him get in touch with the Marrok and here I am."

"A cage?" SeoHyun shuddered at that. "You tried to kill yourself?" she added.

"Yeah, a cage. Daddy didn't know what else to do." Kara sighed. "I did, but werewolves don't die easily. But it's all good now," she added.

They were traipsing through the woods to an hollow Kara found that had a small, shallow spring at it's center. She'd found it a few weeks after her arrival there and it was her favorite place to be when she had a chance to get away from the grownups.

"Sooooo I was thinking," Kara said.

SeoHyun groaned playfully. "Every time you say that it means you're up to something."

Kara grinned. "Leah is going to be in Missoula tomorrow. I think we should sneak into her rooms and move stuff around. I heard about the nasty way she'd acted when you first got here." She'd had her own run-ins with the Marrok's very unpleasant mate. "We'll wear perfume to hide our scent but **if** she, or anyone else, figures out it was us, I'll take all the blame."

"I don't know," SeoHyun said.

"It'll be fun, and serve her right for being mean to you," Kara insisted. She was serious about it, she would take full blame and keep SeoHyun from getting in trouble. She didn't quite understand why she felt so protective of her friend, she just did. She shrugged off her thoughts on that when SeoHyun agreed that it would be fun to move things around on Leah.

********************A&O********************

The following afternoon, smelling of a perfume heavily scented with cloves, they snuck into Bran and Leah's home. They had to be quiet since Bran was there and if he heard them it would ruin everything. They made it to Leah's rooms and Kara grinned once the door was closed behind them. They spent a good bit of time moving everything around in her closet and dresser drawers. They even moved things on top of the dressers. They managed to contain their laughter until they finally slipped away.

********************A&O********************

Kara wasn't laughing that evening as she stood in Bran's study while he gave her a hard look.

"There are only two people in Aspen Creek who might have thought up the idea to play a prank on my mate but only one who would have actually done it," Bran said. When Leah had come home half an hour ago she'd flown into a rage over her entire room being rearranged. Nothing was missing, it was just all disorganized. Bran had no choice to at least **speak** with the person he believed responsible. "Did my granddaughter help you with this?" Bran asked.

Kara knew he would smell the lie but she said it anyway. "Nope. I did it all by myself."

Bran cocked a brow at her. "Really? And why did you do it?"

Kara shrugged. "She was mean to my friend, it doesn't matter that it happened before I knew SeoHyun. It was just a harmless prank but I apologize, Marrok, if it has caused any trouble."

Bran felt the corner of his mouth lift in a hint of a smile. Kara Beckworth had a mischievous side, one he feared might rival the mischief Mercy had gotten into when she was Kara's age. "Harmless though it might be, you should pick a better target for your pranks, one who isn't my mate."

Kara tipped her head and bared her throat to him in submission. "Yes Marrok."

"Go on, Kara, and try to keep the mischief to a minimum," Bran told her, though he had a feeling that wasn't going to happen.

Kara left, managing to avoid Leah, which was a good thing, and laughed all the way home. If she didn't know any better she'd think the Marrok had found the prank funny too.


	3. Chapter Three

**A/N:** All cannon characters and settings belong to the brilliant mind of Patricia Briggs. The rest comes solely from my imagination. This is written merely for my own pleasure and the pleasure of others. Also, I tend to get long-winded, so some of my chapters may be long, no, not may be, will be. You have been warned.

********************A&O********************

That summer was spent with Kara dragging SeoHyun into quite a bit of mischief. She took the Marrok's advice and didn't play any further pranks on Leah but a few other pack members weren't so lucky.

Tag came home one evening to find every tool he owned hanging from the trees in his front yard. Not a single one was in easy reach and he had to use a ladder to get them all down. Another pack member found a similar situation with his mate's shoes. Every pair the woman owned, except the one's she'd worn to go shopping in Missoula, was hanging in the trees. A few others had things get moved around on them. There was speculation as to who was playing the pranks and any time it came up only one person took the blame, but no one really believed she was alone in her mischief.

It was Sage, though, who knew **exactly** who was behind the pranks the moment she walked into her house. She'd come home from shopping with a bounce in her step. The moment she opened her front door she just stood there and stared. Her entire living room sparkled with gold glitter. She did a quick walk through of her small house and thankfully it was just the living room. She couldn't help but laugh. They were inventive, she had to give them that. Still, she wanted to warn them about pranking the wrong wolf. Many of the older wolves were too unstable and while the girls might not mean anything by it, one of their more unstable pack members might react poorly to it.

With that thought in mind Sage went to track the mischief makers down. She knew Kara kept taking full blame for the pranks but everyone who'd been a 'victim' knew she was lying. She was clearly very protective of her friend, SeoHyun. That was to be expected though considering Kara was a fairly dominant wolf and SeoHyun was submissive. Sage doubted either girl realized the reason behind Kara's protectiveness.

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Kara and SeoHyun were stretched out on Kara's bed laughing about their latest prank. "Do you think Sage will be mad?" SeoHyun asked worriedly.

"Sage? Naw, it's glitter, she likes glitter," Kara replied. They both heard a knock at the front door and waited for Kara's mother to get it. Would it be Sage looking for them already?

********************A&O********************

Sage checked with Anna first. She had to assure her she wasn't angry with SeoHyun, she just wanted her and Kara to clean up the mess the best they could, before Anna would tell her anything. When Anna told her the girls weren't there she headed over to Kara's. If they weren't there either she'd go to Asil and get him to help her find them.

"Hello Mrs. Beckworth, are Kara and SeoHyun here by any chance?" she asked.

Ellen Beckworth nodded. "They are. Please, come inside, I'll go get Kara for you." Kara had only just moved back in with her parents because she'd learned enough control to do so.

Kara met her mother in the hall. "Was that Sage at the door?" she asked as if she didn't already know it was.

"Yes, it is. I was just coming to get you. She needs to speak with you and SeoHyun. You girls haven't done anything to get in trouble, have you?"

"Of course not, mom," Kara replied. Then she sighed. "Well, maybe. I put glitter all over her living room," she admitted.

Her mother shook her head. "Go on then. I'm sure she's here to get you to clean up the mess you made."

"Probably," Kara replied and went to the living room where Sage waited. "Hi, Sage," she said.

Sage tried to give her a hard look but she failed miserably. "Where's your partner in crime?" she asked. "Don't bother denying it Kara, everyone knows it's not just you doing it," she added.

SeoHyun came into view with her bottom lip caught between her teeth. Both dominant wolves could smell her worry and Kara moved closer to her, on instinct, to protect the submissive wolf, causing her to stand a little in front of her.

"It's okay, SeoHyun," Sage said, her voice soothing. "I'm not angry with either of you." She saw the immediate change in the younger wolf. "I got a good laugh out of it. Which one of you came up with the idea to use gold glitter?"

"Um, I did," SeoHyun said, giving her a shy smile.

"It was inventive." Sage grew serious then. "I know you two are just having fun but you need to stop playing pranks. So far you've gotten lucky, but there are a number of wolves in our pack who wouldn't be so understanding." Then she said the one thing she knew would get Kara to stop. "Think about how Charles and Anna would feel if you played a prank on one of the more unstable pack members and SeoHyun got hurt as a result. And how would Bran feel knowing his granddaughter was hurt and he had no choice but to punish the other wolf for it even though it was an accident?"

Kara's eyes widened. "I... didn't think about that. Okay, no more pranks," she promised.

"Good. Now, you little pranksters, you get to come clean all the glitter up. It did give me an idea though. I think I'm going to repaint my living room with something that sparkles. I'll even let you two help if you want."

"That would be fun," SeoHyun said after a moment.

"Yeah it would," Kara agreed. "Count us in."

They climbed into Sage's car and once they got to her house they spent two hours trying to get all the glitter up.

"Alright, I think you've gotten as much of it up as you can. Go on you two, but remember your promise; no more pranks," Sage said firmly.

"I'll remember," Kara said and she and SeoHyun left.

Sage watched them go. Things should be a bit calmer around Aspen Creek now.

********************A&O********************

Two weeks after the glitter incident, Sage found a gold paint that sparkled and the girls helped paint her entire living room in it. She also decided to paint her bedroom in it and they helped with that too. She figured it was restitution, of a sort, for the glitter she still had to deal with weeks after their little prank.

The rest of the summer, when Kara wasn't hanging out with SeoHyun, she found herself at Sage's house. The older werewolf continued helping her to learn complete control of her wolf and answered any questions Kara had. She was a little sad when she found out that female werewolves couldn't have children but she had to admit she liked not having to worry about watching her diet. She could pig out on junk food every day, if her parents would let her, and never get fat. How cool was that?

********************A&O********************

Summer ended, school started back, and Kara, ever protective of her friend, kept an eye on SeoHyun to make sure she was okay. It was funny because SeoHyun was actually a little older than her but you wouldn't have known that by looking at them. They were both petite but because Kara was so protective most people just assumed she was older.

One afternoon, while heading to her locker for the book she needed for her last class, she spotted SeoHyun hunched up by her locker. A taller girl stood in front of her and it appeared to Kara like the girl was giving SeoHyun a hard time. Her hackles rose and she approached them. "You better not be harassing her," she said darkly.

SeoHyun jumped a little at the tone in Kara's voice. "No, Kara, she's not. Mrs. Richards gave us this really hard recipe to do for homework and Nancy was just blowing off steam about it."

Kara blushed with embarrassment. "Oh, crap. I'm an idiot. I'm sorry. I just saw SeoHyun hunched up, and you looked angry, and I jumped to conclusions."

Nancy waved it away. "No biggie. It probably looked like I was mad at SeoHyun from a distance," she said. "Anyway, thanks for letting me rant," she said to SeoHyun and headed to her last class of the day.

Kara and SeoHyun headed to theirs as well. They had Spanish together. The seating chart had all the students seated in aphabetical order and, because of a misprint, instead of SeoHyun's last name being listed as Lee-Cornick, it was just Cornick, which put her next to Kara. That made Kara happy because it meant she could share SeoHyun's book if she forgot hers in her locker, something that happened **at** **least** once a week.

"I'll catch up with you later," Kara said as soon as class was over. She knew SeoHyun had a guitar lesson planned with Charles so she had time to go talk to Sage about what had happened just before Spanish class.

"Okay. Try to stay out of trouble," SeoHyun said and gave her friend a playful smile before she laughed softly and left.

"Brat!" Kara called out with a grin. She went to her locker, got the books she needed for homework, and headed over to Sage's home.

********************A&O********************

Sage was just logging her work computer off when she heard the knock on her front door. "Hello Kara, come on in," she said. "Pull up a seat, I'll get you a soda, and you can tell me what has you troubled," she added. She could smell the younger wolf's anxiety.

Kara blushed and flopped down on the sofa. "Am I really **that** obvious?" she asked.

"Only to an older wolf, kiddo. I've been around long enough to smell anxiety," Sage replied. She handed her a bottle of root beer and sat down. "What's up?"

Kara took a moment to get her thoughts in order. "I... wanted to talk to you about something. Something happened at school today that made me.. wonder if there's something wrong, like... maybe I... maybe I can't control my wolf."

Sage got very still. "What happened, Kara?" She was so young, it would be so unfair if she had to be killed, especially since she'd been left on her own for the first three years, when she **should** have been in a pack.

Kara swallowed. "Just before Spanish class I saw SeoHyun and another girl talking. From where I was it looked like the other girl was yelling at SeoHyun and I jumped all over her for it. But she wasn't yelling at SeoHyun. Their Home Ec teacher gave them this hard recipe to do for homework and the girl was just complaining and letting off steam. I apologized but... I'm scared," she said softly.

"Oh, Kara, no honey, you don't need to worry. There's nothing wrong with your control," Sage told her. "What you did was natural. You see, you're a fairly dominant wolf and SeoHyun is a submissive wolf. Your natural instinct is to protect her. However, you do need to be careful, because strong emotions **can** make it harder for you to control your wolf."

Kara felt almost weak with relief. "I was so scared, and it was just natural protectiveness." She laughed then, "Thanks Sage, for letting me come here and just talk all the time."

"Kara, you are **always** welcome here. Hey, this weekend, why don't you and SeoHyun come over for a Lord of the Rings movie marathon," she offered.

Kara grinned. "That would be awesome," she admitted. "Is it the regular or extended edition?"

"Extended, of course," Sage replied. She had all three movies in the 4-disc extended edition as well as all three of the Hobbit movies.

"We'll be here," Kara replied. Sure SeoHyun's favorite was the Hunger Games series but since all of them weren't out on DVD yet they'd settle for going to Middle Earth.

"If we get really adventurous we can watch all of The Hobbit as well," Sage told her.

Kara grinned. "Cool," she said then sighed. "Gotta go. I gotta get homework done so I can go hang out with my bestie. Thanks again, Sage," she said and left. She felt so much better knowing there wasn't anything wrong with her. She'd been so afraid her reaction was because her wolf was out of control. She knew what happened to wolves who lost control. They had to die. She shuddered and said a silent prayer of thanks that that wasn't her fate.


	4. Chapter Four

**A/N:** All cannon characters and settings belong to the brilliant mind of Patricia Briggs. The rest comes solely from my imagination. This is written merely for my own pleasure and the pleasure of others. Also, I tend to get long-winded, so some of my chapters may be long, no, not may be, will be. You have been warned.

********************A&O********************

"Everybody thinks Legolas is so hot but I think Aragorn is hotter," Kara said while she, Sage, and SeoHyun were stretched out on Sage's bed watching The Fellowship of the Ring.

SeoHyun stared at her friend. "No way. Legolas is so much hotter," she said. They both looked at Sage for her opinion.

"Sorry, Kara. I'm going to have to go with SeoHyun on this one. Legolas is definitely the more attractive one of the two," Sage said.

"You two are crazy," Kara said and laughed when Sage threw a piece of popcorn at her. "Hey! You're supposed to eat it, not throw it," she said and popped a piece into her mouth for emphasis.

"How's school going so far, you two?" Sage asked when they were between movies.

"Okay, so far," Kara replied. "I think Spanish is going to be my hardest class. What about SeoHyun?"

SeoHyun shrugged. "All my classes are okay. Home Ec is my favorite though." She liked the cooking part, especially the baking.

"SeoHyun made these strawberry cream cheese cookies the other day that were absolutely delicious," Kara informed the older wolf.

SeoHyun blushed and ducked her head. "Thank you." Compliments still embarrassed her a bit. "I was the only one in class who got an A because my cookies weren't too hard or too soft," she admitted.

"That's great, SeoHyun," Sage said with encouragement. The girl had been through so much and it had damaged her self esteem, something that they were all working to try to help her fix.

The rest of the weekend was spent watching movies, munching on junk food, and talking. Winter was fast approaching, they already had snow on the ground, (Snow, at the end of freaking August? Really?) and the older kids were all talking about the upcoming ski trip. Kara had seen snow, a lot, it snowed in Virginia every winter, but it was nothing like what they got there in Montana and she didn't have a clue how to ski. At least she wasn't alone because her bestie didn't either.

********************A&O********************

The ski trip was a little less than a week away when Kara finally got up the courage to approach her parents about gear for it. Everyone else had their own gear, even SeoHyun, and Kara didn't want to be the only one who had to rent it while there.

"So, um, I have a question, mom," she said while she chopped cucumbers for the salad they were having with dinner. "Can I, maybe, get ski gear for the school trip?"

Ellen put the steaks in the oven before she turned her attention to her daughter. "I don't think we'll be able to do that this year, honey. Your dad is the only one working right now and there really isn't any extra money right now."

"It's not fair!" Kara said and tossed her knife onto the cutting board. "You and daddy are **always** buying yourselves stuff, daddy just got that new TV for his office. I'll be the only one who has to use rentals and everyone's going to laugh at me!"

"I'm sorry, sweetie. I know that's not what you want to hear," Ellen said. "I doubt they'll laugh but even if they do, it shouldn't matter what they think."

"Just forget it!" Kara said and stormed off, slamming the front door as she went out. She didn't understand why, when **they** wanted something they had the money for it, but when it was something she wanted, suddenly they couldn't afford it.

"Kara!" Ellen sighed. She knew there was no getting her to come back. She also knew her daughter would end up at Sage's house. She often went to the older woman when there was something wrong. In the beginning Ellen was upset that her daughter went elsewhere for advice, but then she realized that there were things she just couldn't help Kara with because of her being a werewolf.

********************A&O********************

Sage glanced at the caller ID on her phone when it rang and arched a brow. The number was the land line for Kara's house, which meant that it was most likely one of her parents calling, since Kara always used her cellphone. "Hello?"

"Hello, Sage, it's Ellen. Kara and I just had a bit of an argument and she stormed off. She's probably going to come see you so I thought I would let you know."

"Hi, Ellen. Yeah, she probably will. Don't worry, I'll do what I can to help sort things out," Sage told her.

"Thank you, Sage."

"Don't mention it," she replied and hung up. Ten minutes after she got off the phone with Ellen Beckworth there was a knock on her front door. Sage wasn't surprised to find Kara standing there. "I had a feeling you'd show up. Your mom called and said you two got into an argument," Sage said as she ushered the younger wolf into her living room."Do you want to talk about it?"

Kara sat on the sofa and after removing her shoes she put her feet up on the seat, knees bent, and wrapped her arms around her legs. The position made it easier to hunch her shoulders. "You know we have that ski trip coming up, right?" she asked. When Sage nodded she continued. "Well, everyone else has gear for it, everyone but me. I asked mom if we could go get me some and she said they 'couldn't afford it' since daddy is the only one working right now. But they get stuff for them all the time. Daddy just got this huge freaking TV for his office but they suddenly can't afford to get me stuff for the trip." She sniffled and tried to keep from crying. "Everyone's going to laugh at me for renting my gear and when I told mom that all she said was 'I doubt they will but even if they do, what they think shouldn't matter'. How am I supposed to face everyone after that?" she asked mournfully.

Sage had to force herself to remain calm. Losing her temper wouldn't help Kara any. She moved to the sofa, sat next to her, and hugged her. "It's going to be okay. No one is going to laugh at you because no one will have a reason to. I promise." When Kara scooted closer Sage kissed the top of her head. Kara was like the little sister she'd never had but always wanted. "I'll take care of it, kiddo." She'd see to it Kara had her own gear and she was going to talk to Bran about Kara's parents. Not only was Kara pack, she was a **child** godsdamnit. She deserved better.

Kara sighed. "Thanks, Sage." Then she bit her lip. "I guess I should go home and apologize for storming off."

"Yeah, you probably should, kiddo."

As soon as Kara was gone Sage headed out herself. First order of business was shopping in Missoula. She knew Kara's favorite color was red but an outfit all in red would be a bit much so Sage balanced it with black and cream. The ski pants were black trimmed in red, her jacket was red, and the hat and gloves she picked out were red, cream, and black. Sage debated on the skis then decided to get a basic pair and have them personalized. She would have to go back the next day for them. She picked up some other things she thought Kara might like, just because it was clear the girl was being deprived by her parents, then she went back to Aspen Creek. She dropped all of her purchases at her home and headed over to her Alpha's.

********************A&O********************

Bran was in his study when there was a knock on his front door. His mate wasn't home at the moment so he put his work aside and went to answer it. "Good evening, Sage. To what do I owe this visit?" he asked and motioned her inside.

"I had a visit, earlier, from Kara. She was extremely upset because she'd asked her mother about getting gear for the ski trip and her mother said they couldn't afford it. Kara said her parents have gotten themselves things, her father recently bought a big TV for his office, and she didn't understand why when she wanted something there suddenly isn't enough money for it. Don't worry, I took care of the gear. I've got go go back for her skis tomorrow because I'm having them personalized," she said when it looked like Bran was going to interrupt to growl about getting it himself.

"Good. That means I don't have to. Not that it would be a hardship, but she looks up to you so it's good it is coming from you," Bran said. "It's getting late. Go home, Sage. I will speak with Kara and her parents tomorrow." He was considering removing Kara from her parents' home and having her live with a pack member, most likely Sage since the girl already looked up to her, but he wanted to get a feel for her home life first.

********************A&O********************

The next afternoon Sage went to Missoula to get Kara's skis then swung back by her house for the rest of her purchases and headed to Kara's. It was Saturday and she hoped the girl hadn't gone off to see SeoHyun yet, but if she had she'd just drive over to Charles' and Anna's.

Sage pulled into the driveway just as Kara was coming out the front door. "Hey you, I was hoping to catch you at home," she said as she got out of her car.

"Hey, Sage. I got grounded for a couple of days because of yesterday so I won't be going anywhere this weekend," Kara replied.

Sage didn't think that was fair but she said nothing about it. "Well, I'm glad you're here, whatever the reason, even if it does suck that you're grounded," she said to her. "I have something for you but you have to go inside so I can get it. It's a surprise," she added.

Kara gave her a curious look. "Okay," she said after a moment and headed back inside where her mother was just coming to the door to see who she was talking to. "It's Sage, she has something for me, said it was a surprise so I had to come back inside," she told her.

"I see," Ellen said. "That's nice of her." She went to the door to open it for Sage. "What in the world?" she said at the numerous bags on the porch.

"Hello Mrs. Beckworth," Sage said cordially. "Mind giving me a hand? It's not that it's too heavy, it's just bulky and I'd have to take more than one trip to get everything inside."

John overheard them from the living room and approached. "Let me get them," he said to his wife and picked up a couple bags.

Sage got the last three and after setting the skis against the wall near the front door, out of sight, she followed him into the living room. "Surprise," she said to Kara and laughed at the look on the girl's face. "After our talk yesterday I went to Missoula and I probably when a little overboard on my shopping but..."

"All of this.. is for me?" Kara asked, stunned.

"Sure is kiddo. Go ahead, look at it all," Sage told her.

Kara dug through the bags and when she got to the ski suit her face lit up. "Oh my god, Sage, this is so great! Thank you!" she said with a squeal.

Sage laughed. "You're welcome. I have one more for you," she said and went back to the front door where she'd left the skis. When she returned with them she held them out to her.

"Oh... my... god. They're... they're amazing," Kara said softly. They were deep crimson red with a black and silver wolf, complete with amber eyes, it's head turned up to howl at the moon that hovered above it.

"Ms. Carhardt, we can't accept this. This is too much," John said.

Sage turned to him and held back her growl. "I'm not giving it to **you**. I'm giving it to Kara, a pack member. We take care of our own, Mr. Beckworth." Sage stopped herself from saying something nasty about he and his wife being selfish and turned to Kara. "I was hoping you'd like the custom job on the skis."

"I do. It's awesome, all of it is so great," Kara murmured.

"I'm gonna get out of here and let you get everything put away," Sage told her.

Kara couldn't believe Sage went so far out of her way to get her the things she'd need for the ski trip. Sage said she did it because she was pack. Kara realized she liked knowing she could depend on Sage, or Anna, or Bran, if she needed anything.

********************A&O********************

That evening brought Bran Cornick to their door. Kara was in her room reading a book she had to write a paper on for English so when he arrived she wasn't initially aware it was him. She just heard the knock on the front door and assumed it was someone there to see her parents. She was partially right.

John answered the door and frowned. "Hello Mr. Cornick. What brings you by?"

"I'm here to check on Kara and speak with the three of you," Bran replied.

Kara heard her Alpha's voice and set her book down to go out to the living room.

"Hello, Kara," Bran said when he saw her.

"Hello," she replied and after meeting his eyes briefly she lowered her gaze in submission and went to sit down.

"Please, come in. Can I get you anything to drink?" John asked.

"No thank you." Bran turned his attention to the youngest member of his pack. He could smell her unease. Her family life did not feel happy to him. "I had a talk with Sage last night. She told me about what happened." He felt Kara's unease increase and tried to soothe her. "I'm not angry with you pup. I want to know how you're doing," he told her. _'And I want to know if this is the first time you've needed something and been denied,'_ he said in her mind.

"I'm okay," she replied, which wasn't entirely true and she knew he'd know it. Since she couldn't answer his silent comment verbally without her parents wondering what she was talking about, Kara shook her head slightly.

Bran turned his attention to Kara's parents. He knew what to tell them in order to get them to readily agree to his decision to remove her from their home. He knew they still feared Kara, feared what she was. They did a very good job of hiding it from their daughter, but Bran was a very old wolf and he could see it in the way they carried themselves around her. "I have given the incident that occurred yesterday a great deal of thought and have come to a decision. I feel it would be best if Kara moved in with a pack member, for a time at least. It won't be a permanent move, but her emotional state yesterday, when she was at Sage's house, suggests that her control may not be where it needs to be for her to not be a danger to either of you. Your wife got very lucky yesterday. Had she tried to stop Kara from leaving it could have easily gone badly. Kara is still young, she has a great deal going on, not just hormones, which can affect control, but stress from school as well. Combine that with the fact she's fairly new at controlling her wolf, had your wife tried to stop her, Kara could have lost control. It would damage her if she harmed either of you and as much as I wouldn't want to, I would still have to punish her for it. If she were to accidentally kill either of you, it would be an immediate death sentence."

Kara hunched up on the sofa while he talked and hugged her knees to herself. A soft whimper escaped her at the thought of ever hurting or killing one of her parents. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if she did that. She'd **want** to die.

John and Ellen looked at each other. "It's really that dangerous?" John finally asked.

"It really is," Bran replied.

"Kara, honey, you know we love you, don't you?" John asked his daughter.

"I know daddy," was her reply.

"Letting you go live with someone else so everyone is safe, it's not because we don't love you. But if what Mr. Cornick said is true, it's for the best. Just until he says it's safe for you to move back home."

Kara nodded. "I know." She understood why Bran was doing this. At least, she was pretty sure she did. He was looking out for one of his pack members, the way an Alpha should. It hurt though, that her father didn't even try to argue with Bran about it. He just... accepted it. Like it didn't really matter that much. "Um... do you think I could stay with Sage?" Kara asked.

"More than likely, yes," Bran replied. "I will talk with her tomorrow and we'll get everything settled. Goodnight then," he added and left.

********************A&O********************

Two days later Kara found herself packing all her things to move. She would still have a room there at her parents' home, should she decide to stay over, but she was officially moving into Sage's home. It made her sad to leave her parents, even if she'd been very unhappy there, but she understood the reasoning behind the move.

She'd been surprised the day before when Sage showed up to ask her if she wanted to paint her room a different color from the pale beige it was at the moment. Sage explained she wanted her to feel at home and she wanted Kara to make the room **hers**. She'd thought about it and then decided on something unique. A fellow pack member was an artist and she was working on the theme Kara wanted for her walls; a forest at dusk. She didn't want just trees though. That would be boring. There would be a stream and animals as well. A doe and her fawn bedding down in a thicket, a wolf with her mate and pups, an owl perched on a tree branch, even a rabbit or two. Once the details were drawn on the walls Kara would get to help with some of the painting.

Once the last box was loaded into the back of Charles' truck Kara turned to tell her parents goodbye. She knew she'd be back home with them eventually, and she still planned to spend time **with** her parents, so it wasn't like she was going to be gone forever.

Ellen hugged her daughter and kissed her cheek. "You be good, honey," she said to her.

"I will mom."

John Beckworth hugged his daughter tight. She'd been through so much, and he'd failed her in a lot of ways, and he knew it. He also knew he'd not been doing right by her lately and felt immensely guilty for it. "This will always be your home, Kara, remember that."

"I know daddy," Kara replied. She returned the hug then went out the door to Sage's car.

"It's not the end of the world, kiddo, and you're only moving not even a ten minute walk away," Sage told her.

Kara stuck her tongue out then laughed. "Thanks, Sage. I guess I needed that."

"Yeah, you did," Sage replied. "And you're welcome."

********************A&O********************

The day of the ski trip finally arrived and Kara was so excited. "This is going to be so great," she said once she and SeoHyun were in one of the seats on the bus. Tag sat near them, he was their werewolf chaperon for the trip, and his presence made things easier for Kara. He was more dominant so she didn't have to stress out over things. She could just enjoy herself. As soon as they reached the resort and dropped their bags off she and SeoHyun hit the slopes. Her friend picked it up better than she did and Kara felt a little envious as a result.

********************A&O********************

"Someone was watching me at the bottom of the slope... I didn't get a good look at his face and the wind was wrong for me to catch any scent but..."

Kara heard SeoHyun's comment to Tag and moved to them. "I'll stay with her," she promised Tag so he could look into it. She kept her friend occupied until Tag said it was okay to go back to the slopes.

Kara moved to follow SeoHyun and almost landed face first in the snow when her left foot came out of her ski. "Go ahead, I'll catch up," she told her friend.

"Okay." SeoHyun left and headed down the slopes.

Kara finally got her ski back on and followed SeoHyun. She figured she'd catch up with her near the bottom. She was over halfway down when she saw Tag off to the side. He was looking at something and Kara frowned as he pulled his cellphone out. She closed the distance between them quickly.

"...kidnapped..."

Kara only heard that word but it was enough. She started to shake. "Where is she, Tag? Where's SeoHyun?" she growled.

Tag hung up with Charles and whirled to look at the younger wolf. "I don't know. We'll find her, Kara," he assured her.

"What do you mean you don't know?" she asked and her eyes changed to wolf amber. The shaking increased and she grimaced in pain.

Tag took her arm and gently guided her into the nearby trees, away from the slopes and any prying eyes.

"Tag, you're scaring me. What's happened?"

"SeoHyun's been kidnapped. We don't know by who, or why, but we **will** find her," he told her.

Kara stared at him. "It's my fault.. it's all my fault," she whispered.

"It's not your fault, Kara," Tag told her. "If anyone is at fault it's me. I'm here to keep an on both of you and I failed."

She shook her head. "No, it **is** my fault. My ski was loose, I told her to go ahead and I'd catch up. If I'd made her wait she'd be safe," she said and her voice ended in a howl.

"Shit." Tag was more dominant but he wasn't dominant enough to stop her form changing. All he could do was keep her wolf under control once the involuntary shift was done.

Kara just barely managed to get out of her gear, with Tag's help, before the change took her. It hurt so much more than usual and took a little longer to complete. When it was over she lay there panting.

"It's alright Kara. Let's get you somewhere safe until you can change back," Tag said gently. He carried her gear and sneaked her into his room at the resort. It was the only way to keep her and everyone else safe.

********************A&O********************

When Charles arrived Tag told him everything, including Kara blaming herself and losing control of her wolf. She was taking her friend's disappearance hard and if something bad happened it might be devastating for the younger wolf.

Tag, Kara, and SeoHyun were checked out of their rooms, and while Charles started the search for his daughter Tag took Kara back to Aspen Creek for Sage to watch over her until their missing wolf was found.


	5. Chapter Five

**Disclaimer:** All cannon characters and settings belong to the brilliant mind of Patricia Briggs. The rest comes solely from my imagination. This is written merely for my own pleasure and the pleasure of others. Also, I tend to get long-winded, so some of my chapters may be long, no, not may be, will be. You have been warned.

********************A&O********************

One week. One long, agonizing week. That was how long it took for them to find SeoHyun and bring her home. Each day that passed with no news Kara sank deeper and deeper into self recrimination. It was all her fault. She didn't have the same kind of control the older wolves did, she could feel her friend's distress through the pack bonds, and that made her blame herself even more.

Sage was worried about her young charge. Kara was taking this a lot harder than she should and Sage struggled with a way to get through to her. "Kara, we need to talk," she said, approaching her.

Kara was curled up in a chair staring at the fire in Sage's fireplace. "Okay," she said and waited.

Sage knelt by the chair. "You need to stop blaming yourself for SeoHyun being kidnapped. No, just listen. I know you think you could have done something to stop it, but you couldn't have. The person who took her was a wolf. That means he would have been too strong for you to fight him. How do you think SeoHyun would feel if you'd been there and gotten hurt, or worse, killed, trying to stop him?"

Kara stared at Sage. "I... didn't think about that," she admitted. "But I can't stop thinking I could have done something, you know?"

"I know, kiddo," Sage replied. "How do you think Tag feels? He was supposed to keep you both safe. I know he's worried Charles might kill him if things go badly. It's a very real concern because SeoHyun is Charles' pup and he's not always a nice man."

"Oh, wow. Yeah, that's... poor Tag. I would so not want to be in his shoes right now," Kara said with a giggle.

"Me neither, kiddo," Sage replied, She was glad she'd finally gotten through Kara's funk.

********************A&O********************

When SeoHyun was finally rescued and returned home, Kara became even more protective of her best friend. The problem was, no amount of protectiveness could shield SeoHyun from her own thoughts. Not even Kara was aware of how poorly her friend viewed her own worth.

********************A&O********************

As inseparable as the girls were, they did have their own hobbies and interests. While SeoHyun's interests were in baking and music, Kara's passion was in theatre. She joined the drama club and it quickly became clear she had talent. She could immerse herself in a role to the point you thought it was written just for her. It wasn't something she wanted to do as a career, but she was already thinking about ways she could keep being part of the acting realm once high school was over.

When the drama club decided to do a production of Grease she debated on just working behind the scenes despite the fact she really liked being on stage. She could act but she didn't think she had that great of a voice.

"You should try out for Rizzo, you'd be **perfect** for the part." She and SeoHyun were having lunch with a couple of people from the drama club. Riley Jensen was one of them. He really liked Kara but he wasn't sure what Kara thought about him and since he wasn't the smoothest when it came to girls, he decided to try an unconventional approach. He planned to try out for the role of Kinickie.

"I don't know," Kara said and bit her lip.

"You should try," SeoHyun told her. "You've got a good voice and besides, like you've told me, you won't know until you try, right?"

There were choruses of 'Yeah, give it a shot' before Kara waved her hands in front of her face as if to ward off their comments. "Okay, okay, I'll try out," she finally agreed.

Awesome," Riley said with a grin.

********************A&O********************

"I hear someone is trying out for the upcoming play," Sage said over dinner.

Kara ducked her head a bit. "Yeah. I don't think I'll get the part but... with everyone urging me to try out, I couldn't say no."

"Mhm, and this wouldn't have anything to do with a certain boy, would it?"

Kara's eyes widened at that. "SeoHyun, that little sneak!" she said and laughed. "Mayyyybe," she finally said, drawing the word out.

"Tell me about him." Sage put a little command in it because she wanted to be sure her young charge didn't get hurt.

"He's sweet, and cute, and... honestly, a bit awkward. I mean, like, he tries to be 'cool' but it so doesn't work, and then he goes back to being himself and I like who he is. He doesn't care that I'm not human, he still wants to hang out and stuff, you know? I mean, I don't think he likes me **that** way, but he's fun to be around. He's a drama geek," she said with a cheeky grin. "He talks about wanting to be on Broadway, just once, to see what it's like."

"You should have him come for dinner sometime, especially if you both get parts in the play. You could practice lines together."

Kara didn't think there was an ulterior motive behind the suggestion. "If we both get parts, maybe I will," she agreed.

********************A&O********************

Kara debated on how she wanted to do her audition. Just act out a scene or sing something? In the end she went with a song. Not just any song though. No, she went with Rizzo's most emotional song. "There are worse things I could do," her voice started out a little unsure but she quickly gained confidence thanks to SeoHyun and Riley, who sat in the front row of the auditorium, giving her the 'thumbs up' signal. "Than go with a boy or two. Even though the neighborhood thinks I'm trashy and no good, I suppose it could be true, but there are worse things I could do." She didn't sing the entire song, just the first and last verses, and her voice really picked up near the end. "I could hurt someone like me, out of spite or jealousy. I don't steal and I don't lie, but I can feel and I can cry, a fact I'll bet you never knew. But to cry in front of you, that's the worst thing I could do." When her friends stood and applauded Kara blushed and took a seat to watch Riley's audition. She arched a brow at his choice. They would have **a lot** of lines together if they both got the parts they tried out for.

********************A&O********************

Three days later the cast list was posted. Kara was hesitant to look but SeoHyun and Riley both dragged her over to it. It was funny that such a dominant wolf was so nervous that her very submissive best friend had to drag her to go look at the list.

"Hot damn," Riley said. "We got it, both of us, we got the parts."

Kara stared. "I... got the part. I didn't think my voice was that good. I mean, Shannon has a better voice, I think.. whoa, she's Patty Simcox? Ouch."

Shannon approached them. "Hey. Congrats on getting Rizzo, Kara."

"Thanks, Shannon. I think you had the better voice though."

Shannon gave her a funny look. "Wait, you're serious? Kara, you **nailed** that song. I might have tried to belt it out, but you put **emotion** into it. Besides, I'm probably more of a Patty Simcox than a Rizzo, anyway."

"Thanks, I think," Kara replied.

********************A&O********************

That afternoon, when school was over, the cast gathered in the auditorium to get their scripts and go over rehearsal times. Kara couldn't wait to go tell Sage, and her parents, that she'd gotten the part. The relationship with her parents was still strained but they were all trying to make it better.

"See you tomorrow, Riz," Riley said with a wink as they all headed out of the school.

Kara laughed. "See you tomorrow. Oh, by the way, want to come over sometime and work on lines?"

"Are you sure that's okay with your guardian?" He knew she was living with another member of her pack.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Sage is actually the one who suggested it when I told her I was trying out for the play."

"Alright then. We could do that tomorrow, if you want," he replied before he got in his car and headed home.

********************A&O********************

Kara stopped by to tell her mother first. She stepped into the house with a smile that fell when she saw moving boxes. "Mom?"

"Kara, honey, I wasn't expecting you to come so early," Ellen said when she heard her daughter's voice.

"Yeah, I can see that. So, what, were you and daddy just going to pack everything you could in the dead of the night and leave?" she asked and there was hurt in her voice.

"What? No! No, Kara, we weren't going to just leave," Ellen said and approached her daughter. "Your father's job is relocating us. We're just going to Missoula, honey. I know that means only getting to visit on weekends, but it was that or your father would have to find something else and jobs are so scarce."

"When were you going to tell me?" she asked, voice choked with emotion.

Ellen hugged her daughter. "I'd already called Sage and asked her to tell you to come for dinner tonight. Your father wanted to be here too when you were told because we both want you to know we're not abandoning you. I know things haven't been the best but we do love you, sweetheart."

Kara let her tears fall silently for several minutes before she wiped her eyes. "It'll be a while before I can come visit. My weekends are gonna be tied up with rehearsals. I stopped to tell you I got the part of Rizzo."

"Oh, Kara, honey, that's so great. You will have to make sure we know when the play is and we'll be here," Ellen promised. "You know what, I have some fresh apple pie that's just waiting to be eaten, how about we have some to celebrate?" she added.

Kara grinned. "That sounds great, mom."

They sat at the kitchen table and Ellen gave her daughter two slices of the pie. Then she asked about the play, who else was in it, and what compelled her to try for Rizzo. She was the most controversial female character in the play.

"That's why I like her though, **because** she's so controversial," Kara said. "She's not afraid to be herself or to go after what she wants. She's a strong character who faces a lot of discrimination for not adhering to a perceived standard, and she keeps her head high while doing it."

"You've really given the role a lot of thought, haven't you?" Ellen asked.

"I have," Kara admitted. "Besides, her songs are fun," she added with a grin. She looked at the clock and sighed. "I better go before Sage starts to worry but I'll be back for dinner," she promised.

"Alright, honey. I'll let your father know you already know about the move, but I'll let you be the one to tell him about the play," Ellen replied.

********************A&O********************

Sage was just getting ready to call Kara's phone when she heard her come in the front door. "There you are, I was starting to get worried."

"Sorry, I stopped by my mom and dad's and... they're moving away. To Missoula," she said glumly. "Mom insists I'll get to see them every weekend but..."

"But you're worried they'll make excuses for why you can't visit them," Sage said with understanding.

"Yeah," Kara admitted. "I know it's stupid, but with what already happened..."

Sage went to her and hugged her. "It's not stupid to be worried, Kara. We'll deal with that, if it happens, but don't go upsetting yourself for no reason." 'And if they hurt you I'm going to bury them,' she added silently. "So, did you get the part, or what?" she asked to distract Kara from her parents moving away.

Kara grinned. "I got it! And... Riley got the role of Kinickie, so he's coming over tomorrow so we can start working on our lines together."

"That is so great, Kara. I knew you could do it," Sage told her. "You let me know if they need any help with sets or costumes, you know the pack will help wherever we can. At least some of us will."

"I know. I'll let you know if we need anything," Kara replied. She went to her room to work on homework until she had to head to her parents' home for dinner.

********************A&O********************

"Hi, daddy," Kara said when she stepped inside her parents' home to find him sitting in the living room.

"Hi, pumpkin," John said and went to her. "Your mom said you came by earlier. We didn't want you to find out like that, we wanted to tell you together."

"I know, daddy, mom explained it. I know you don't have any choice in this. It's fine." It really wasn't 'fine' but thankfully her father wasn't a werewolf so he couldn't smell the lie.

"We'll have you every weekend we can, while the weather is good and it's safe to travel," John said and gave her a quick hug. "Your mom also said you had a surprise of your own?"

"I got the part of Rizzo in the school play," Kara said. She'd previously told them about the drama club deciding to do a production of Grease.

"Rizzo? Which one is she?" he asked.

"Rizzo is the one played by Stockard Channing in the movie, the one who was a bit... loose," Ellen said before Kara could.

"As I told mom," Kara said before her father could speak up, "Rizzo is the most confident character in the play. She's not afraid to go after what she wants and she doesn't let anyone make her feel like she's less of a person for her personal choices."

"Kind of like you, pumpkin," John said. "That's great that you got it. I'm proud of you," he added.

"I won't be able to visit until after we've had the play though, we'll be rehearsing on weekends too."

"I know sweetheart, but that's okay. This is something you really like doing."

"Yeah, it is," she admitted.

"Come on you two, dinner's done," Ellen said and ushered them to the dining room. She'd made lasagna, salad, garlic bread, and they had the rest of the apple pie for dessert.

They talked about everything but the coming move because John didn't want to upset his daughter further. His wife was the one really pushing for the move. She wasn't comfortable living in a town with so many werewolves, but since their own daughter was a werewolf he wasn't mentioning that. He didn't want Kara to feel like there was something wrong with her.

Kara was a little sad when it was time to leave. Her parents would be moving that weekend and since it was already Thursday, that didn't leave much time for her to adjust to it or for her to spend time with them before they left. She couldn't help but wonder if they'd planned it that way.

"Your mom and I love you, Kara, don't forget that, okay?" John said when he walked her to the door.

Kara nodded. "I know daddy, I won't. I'll come see you off Saturday," she said and after a quick hug she left.

********************A&O********************

Sage was waiting for her with a cup of hot cocoa when she got back. She'd figured out quickly that hot cocoa was the perfect comfort beverage for Kara, as long as it was made with real milk and cocoa. "You okay, kiddo?" she asked gently.

"Not really," Kara replied. "But what choice do I have? They're leaving **Saturday** and they waited until now to tell me."

"I'm so sorry Kara. They should have given you more warning than this," Sage said. Every time she thought she should give Kara's parents the benefit of the doubt something else happened to make her dislike them even more.

"Thanks, Sage. I'm... gonna go and start learning my lines," Kara said after she finished her cocoa.

Sage watched her go. "I've gotta head out for a bit anyway, I'll be back," she said, grabbed her bag, and left.

********************A&O********************

Sage sat in her car and stared at the little house Kara's parents currently lived in. It wouldn't do for her to go in and start growling at them, but Kara was **her** responsibility and by gods she was going to give them both a piece of her mind for upsetting Kara so badly.

"Miss Cardhart, what can I do for you?" John asked when he opened the front door to find her standing there.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe explain why you decided your daughter didn't need to know you were moving until almost the last minute," Sage replied. "Do you have **any** idea how much you've hurt her? Or do you just not give a shit now that she's not human?"

"This has nothing to do with her being a werewolf," John said. "Besides, she said she understood."

Sage laughed. "Yeah, of course she said that. She doesn't want you to feel guilty about leaving and she's not so sure you two really **care** about how she feels anyway. And why would she think you really care? You were neglecting her needs while treating yourselves to things. You couldn't even be **bothered** with telling her you were moving until two days before leaving."

"How dare you try to judge us," Ellen said from behind her husband. "You have no idea what the last three years were like for us."

Sage snorted. "It couldn't be anywhere **near** as bad as it was for Kara. She had **no one** she could lean on, no one who understood what she was going through, and the people who were supposed to love her unconditionally locked her in a fucking **cage** like an animal. She's a young girl who had her entire world shattered and you act like **you're** the victim." Her eyes narrowed. "You're afraid of her, even though she's learned to control her wolf. Or is it that you just don't really love her anymore, Ellen, now that she's not human? That's it. You're not sure you want to have her in your home now. You're a bigot." Sage shook her head. "When you start making excuses for why she can't visit, do try to remember she's your **daughter** and she **never** asked for this. It's hard enough for her to not see herself as a monster, she doesn't need you making it even harder," she said and left. When Kara's parents broke her heart, and Sage knew they would, it was going to be up to the pack to help her heal.

********************A&O********************

Kara was quiet at lunch, which was completely out of character for her, and SeoHyun frowned."What's wrong?" she asked worriedly.

"Sorry, it's... my parents are moving to Missoula this weekend," Kara said softly.

"I didn't know your folks were moving, why didn't you say anything before now?" Riley asked.

"I didn't know either," SeoHyun put in. There was a hint of hurt in her voice.

Kara winced at the pain in her best friend's voice but her next words, she knew, would make it go away. "Because I didn't know myself until last night."

"Oh, man, Kara, that's... I'm so sorry. That's shitty of them to not tell you sooner."

"Thanks Riley. I guess I'm just a little bummed today."

SeoHyun scooted closer to her. "You have good reason to be."

"SeoHyun's right, you have good reason to be," Riley told her. "If you want to reschedule practice so you can spend time with them tonight, I'm okay with that," he added.

"No. If they'd wanted to spend time with me they would have told me sooner," Kara replied.

"Sooo... I hear we're getting a new student on Monday and rumor has it she's a werewolf too," Janna, another of their drama club friends, said to change the subject.

"Bronwyn, yeah. It's a bit of a long story, she's a distant relative of the Marrok and his sons. She was really sick so they weren't sure if she would even survive the change but I guess Cornicks are made of sterner stuff," Kara replied. "And if you think **I'm** protective of SeoHyun, wait until you see how Bronwyn is," she added with a laugh. She did feel better with the change of subject. The bell sounded, ending lunch, and they all went their separate ways.

After school SeoHyun headed home while Kara went to rehearsals. She really strove to put herself into the role, from the very beginning, and it showed.

********************A&O********************

Sage, being the overly protective guardian she was, had every intention of keeping an eye out for **any** trouble with this Riley. If he was a threat to Kara he'd have to be put in his place quickly. She wasn't an ogre about it though. She even had dinner waiting when they got there. "Hey, kiddo," she said to Kara. "So, you must be Riley," she added when they came in.

Riley cocked a brow. "Kiddo? Oh, right werewolves don't age after a certain point," he said. "Yep, that's me," he added and offered his hand.

"This is Sage," Kara said, introducing them.

Sage took the offered handshake. "It's nice to meet you, Riley. I made stew if anyone is hungry. SeoHyun made the rolls though, since she's better at baking and offered to make them for me."

"Please tell me she made the honey rolls," Kara said and when Sage nodded she grinned. "Awesome! I love her, those are my favorite," she added. "You're in for a treat," she told Riley.

"Sounds like it," he said. They set their bags down and he surprised both of them by holding Kara's chair for her.

Sage arched a brow and wondered if he was really like that or if he was trying to impress them. "I'm going to be the nosy guardian," Sage said after they were eating. "Tell me a little about yourself, Riley. What do you like to do besides acting?"

"I read a lot, game a bit, I'm not into shooter games, more into the role playing kind I guess, uh, and.. I collect rocks. It's nerdy, I know, but they're fascinating."

"Ah, a budding geologist? Is that what you want to do after high school or are you undecided?" Sage asked curiously.

"Honestly, I'm not sure. I mean, I enjoy that and acting both equally but... I know if I focused on acting I'd probably be struggling my entire life just to survive and I don't know that I want to do that. Of course, if my folks had their way I'd be a lawyer or something," he said.

"Well, there's no rule that says you can't do both," Sage pointed out. "Go to school to study geology and continue acting as a hobby."

"Huh, I hadn't thought of that," Riley replied."I like that idea, thanks."

"Always happy to help," Sage replied. She glanced at Kara. "You're awfully quiet," she teased.

"I'm still processing the fact Riley just called himself a nerd," Kara joked. "What kind of games do you play?" she asked.

"Right now I jump between Skyrim and Dragon Age Inquisition. I know they've both been out for a while but I just got them for my birthday. I'd already played Dragon Age Origins, with the Awakening expansion, and Dragon Age 2, and I liked them both, but Inquisition is freaking awesome. It's an open world platform, which means you get to explore every inch of the map if you want to. I've done more exploring than actual questing... and I'm going to shut up now because I really sound like a geek," Riley said sheepishly.

"No you don't!," Kara countered. "Sage just got me Inquisition last week because I'd mentioned wanting to try it. We should do the multiplayer thing sometime," she added.

"That would be awesome," Riley agreed.

They spent the entire meal talking about the game and Sage sat back and listened to them. Riley seemed genuine to her and she liked seeing Kara so animated about something other than school. Riley helped clear the table but when he offered to help with the dishes Sage shooed him away. "Go practice your lines, you two." Whether he and Kara formed a strong bond of friendship, or something more came of it, only time would tell, but Sage would encourage them as long as he didn't do anything to hurt Kara.

********************A&O********************

The following day Sage was with Kara as she bid her parents goodbye and then they went home, stripped, and shifted to go for a run. Sage knew Kara needed the distraction and her wolf needed the feeling of freedom for a time.

Sage was also there later than night when Kara curled up on her bed and cried because she was sure her parents were going to go to Missoula and forget all about her. Sage's heart went out to her but there was little she could say or do to assure her it wouldn't happen. All she could do was be there for her if it did and make sure the pack was aware and there for her too.


	6. Chapter Six

**Disclaimer:** All cannon characters and settings belong to the brilliant mind of Patricia Briggs. The rest comes solely from my imagination. This is written merely for my own pleasure and the pleasure of others. Also, I tend to get long-winded, so some of my chapters may be long, no, not may be, will be. You have been warned.

 **A/N:** Because I have been so slow at updating, and because this story is connected to SeoHyun's stories, written by Imaginationqueen87 (go read her stuff, she writes in a variety of areas!), I am trying to move it along to be more inline with SeoHyun's latest story arc, Time to Grow. Hence the double update!

Also, the incident that happens between SeoHyun and 'Andrew' happens in imaginationqueen87's story, Hope and Family.

 **P.S.** Imaginationqueen87, you said you couldn't wait to see what Kara will do to Andrew for bullying SeoHyun... here it is! Enjoy!

********************A&O********************

Kara was livid. Several weeks had passed since her parents moved away, but that wasn't why she was angry, No, she was angry because she hadn't been there when that asshole, Andrew, decided to bully SeoHyun. Bully. More like freaking **assault** her, but the school was calling it 'bullying'. Bronwyn intervened and managed to keep her cool better than Kara probably would have despite the fact Kara had been a wolf longer.

Now that it was all over Kara wasn't allowed to do anything **physically** to him but... he needed to be paid back for it. A thought came to mind and an evil grin flashed across her face. Andrew was on the football team, one of their best players, **of course** the school wasn't really going to do anything to him, but that didn't mean she couldn't.

She headed for the field where she knew the equipment manager/water boy would be cleaning up from practice. "Hey Billy, what's shaking?" she asked as she approached him. They had two classes together and tended to share notes.

"Hey, Kara, not much. I heard about what Andrew did to your friend, SeoHyun. That was pretty... crappy of him."

"Shitty, the word you're looking for is shitty," she replied, which got her a laugh. "That's actually why I'm here. I can't do anything to him, physically, even if I want to kick him in the balls, but he needs some payback and I was wondering if you'd like to help. I know he's an asshole to you too."

"Depends. Whatcha got in mind?" he asked. Kara told him her plan and he grinned. "Count me in. You get the stuff, I'll get you access to his locker."

"Cool. I'll let you know when I've got it," she said and left.

********************A&O********************

It was Saturday afternoon, twenty minutes before the team would arrive to suit up for football practice, when Kara slipped into the locker room at the high school and made her way to Andrew's locker. She had several items in a bag she had slung over her shoulder and after unlocking the combination lock she went to work. Their school colors were red and black but their rival's colors were orange and blue. Since Andrew had light brown hair, well, changing his hair color would be easy. To his shampoo she added dark blue hair dye and then added orange to his body wash. Then she put on gloves, took out his jock strap (really, he left it there? Kinda gross but it made this easier for her), and applied a liberal amount of ultra strength tiger balm to it. She'd seriously considered using liquid heat. It was a potent drain cleanee, but she was worried it would cause permanent damage and she didn't want to maim him, just hurt him. Then she left and went to the bleachers to wait for the team to hit the field.

********************A&O********************

Half an hour after Kara's visit to the locker room the team headed onto the field. Within minutes Andrew started to frown. Soon he felt a burning sensation that got so bad he ran off the field, ignoring the coach's orders to get back there, grabbed his stuff from the locker, and went to shower. He didn't know what was wrong, he just knew it burned. It wasn't until after he'd finished showering that he realized someone had messed with his stuff.

"You little shit!" Andrew snarled as he stalked out onto the field and headed straight for Billy. His teammates and the cheerleaders all stared at him.

Billy backpedaled quickly. "What? Hey, I didn't do anything!" he countered.

"The hell you didn't, you're the only one who could have," Andrew said and reached for him.

Kara took the steps down to the field two at a time and moved to intercept on Billy's behalf. "Leave him alone. You want to try to beat on someone for the tiger balm and dye, you're looking at the wrong person. That was all me, dickhead. Maybe if you'd pull your head out of your ass and stop picking on others I wouldn't have had to resort to putting you in your place." She stepped between him and Billy and when he reached for her like he was going to grab her the way he'd grabbed SeoHyun a growl trickled from her. "I'm not a submissive like SeoHyun. You put your hand on me and I'll break it."

The coach came over in time to hear her and tried to bully her into submission because he was 'an adult'. "Threatening another student can get you suspended, missy."

"And **assaulting** one can get your quarterback both expelled, and thrown in jail, coach. You really think Charles Cornick is going to let this little prick assault his daughter and get away with it?"She saw the look in his eyes and grinned. "Then of course there's the Marrok. SeoHyun Lee Cornick is his granddaughter and **you** have family who are pack. How do you think they're going to feel knowing you ignored him assaulting one of our submissive wolves just so he can keep playing? And yes, I **will** be sure they know all about it," she added. "Oh, and Andrew, if you or anyone else tries to screw with Billy because of this, I'll do worse than tiger balm and dye next time." With that she sauntered off to her own practice.

********************A&O********************

Kara had enlisted SeoHyun's and Bronwyn's help on the scenery for the play and both girls were hard at work when she came in. "Hey, where were you?" Bronwyn asked.

Kara shrugged at her. "Taking care of something," she replied. "Let's just say, I don't think Andrew will be bothering SeoHyun anymore," she added.

"What did you do?" Bronwyn asked. "Kara, you could get yourself in trouble, not just here at school, but with Bran too," she added worriedly.

"I didn't hurt him, geez. Give me **some** credit," Kara said. "I put tiger balm in his jock strap and he'll be sporting blue hair and orange skin, with blue streaks compliments of the blue hair dye, for a while," she added.

Bronwyn, SeoHyun, and Riley, who'd caught the end of what she said, all stared at her for a moment before they busted out laughing. "Oh my god, that has to be the greatest payback, ever," Riley said. "Especially since we play Troy tonight."

"I thought so too. He tried to go after Billy because he thought he did it so I 'fessed up and he tried to grab me like he did SeoHyun," Kara said. At the look in Riley's eyes she continued quickly. She didn't want him getting hurt for no reason. "I told him I wasn't submissive like SeoHyun and if he touched me I'd break his hand. The coach actually had the nerve to threaten me with suspension for 'threatening' another student."

"Uh oh, I think I know where this is going," Bronwyn said.

"I told him that assaulting another student is grounds for expulsion and jail time, which made him nervous," Kara said, " **And** I told him that I was gonna be sure to let his uncle know he let his quarterback get away with assaulting one of our submissive wolves," she added with a grin. "You should have seen the look on his face, it was great."

They all laughed then while Bronwyn and SeoHyun went back to work on scenery Kara and Riley joined rehearsals. The performance was two weeks away and everyone was in a frenzy to make sure they had every move, every word, just right. The hand jive song was one of the hardest scenes for them to do because of the timing but even that was coming along.

********************A&O********************

Kara put the finishing touches on her makeup, made sure her wig didn't move, and nodded at her reflection. Since her hair was longer than her character's she'd decided on a wig in order to really embody the role of Rizzo. Showtime was in ten minutes and she felt the flutter of nerves that made her close her eyes and take a deep breath. She'd peeked out at the audience a little bit ago, half expecting to see the two reserved seats next to Sage empty, and couldn't help the spurt of happiness she felt when she saw her parents **were** there. Maybe them moving to Missoula wasn't going to be so bad after all.

"Looking good there, Rizz," Riley said with a grin.

Kara turned and gave him a sultry look. "Eat your heart out, Kinickie."

Riley laughed. "You are definitely channeling Stockard Channing tonight," he teased. "You ready for this?"

"Oh yeah. This is going to be so much fun," Kara replied. The lights dimmed and they took their places.

********************A&O********************

The play seemed to fly by. Kara lost herself in her role for a time and when it was over she was a little sad. She'd had a lot of fun. The really sucky part was, since she was graduating a year early, she wouldn't get to do this again unless she took drama at college That was a thought.

Riley approached her, picked her up, and hugged her. "You were **awesome** as Rizzo," he said and laughed at the noise she made from being picked up.

"Dang it Riley, you startled me! It's a good thing for you I've got a good sense of smell. Startling a werewolf can be **bad**."

"Damn, sorry, Kara. I wasn't thinking about that."

She shook her head. "No biggie. I had so much fun, I'm sad it's over," she told him.

"Me too. Looks like you've got company, see you," he replied and stepped back as her parents arrived.

"Kara, honey, you were wonderful," John said and hugged his daughter tight. "These are for you," he added and gave her a dozen roses.

Ellen Beckworth kissed her daughter's cheek. "Your father is right, you were really good," she said. She'd made John sit next to Sage during the play but she had a feeling the person on the other side was a werewolf too. She couldn't help that they made her uncomfortable.

"Thanks mom," Kara said. She could smell her mother's discomfort but she wasn't sure of the cause so she said nothing about it. "So, um, I was thinking... maybe I could go back to Missoula with you guys tonight and spend the day with you tomorrow."

"Oh, honey, we would love that but this weekend isn't a good time," Ellen said.

"We've had some problems with the house. The room that is to be yours for when you come on the weekends had some floor damage that we're having to replace," John explained. "It's supposed to be finished by the middle of the week so what do you say you come next weekend instead?"

"Oh. Okay. Yeah, sure daddy," Kara replied. She plastered on a fake smile because she figured there would be another excuse the following weekend.

Sage had hung back a bit to give Kara some time with her parents since she'd not seen them in two months, but at the dejected tone in Kara's voice she approached. "You were amazing tonight, kiddo," she told her. "I couldn't help but overhear and I have an idea. Since the problem is the bedroom Kara is supposed to have, why don't I just put Kara and I up in a hotel in Missoula for the night? That way she can still spend all day tomorrow with you guys." If the reason they'd given was genuine, their reaction now would prove it.

"Are you sure Bran will let us do that?" Kara asked.

"Of course. Missoula is part of our territory, sort of. Besides, this is for you, and if he wants us to have someone else with us, I'll get Tag to come along."

"That sounds good to us," John said.

"It's settled then. We'll call you and let you know what hotel we're staying at when we get there," Sage told them.

As it turned out, Bran wasn't willing to let the two of them go by themselves so Tag packed a bag and headed to Missoula with them. He would get an adjoining room so **if** he was needed he could be there in seconds. Truth be told, he didn't mind being in a car with Sage, not that he'd ever let even his scent give that away. He was damn good at pretending to not be attracted to anyone. "I'll be right through here if you need me," he said as he went through the door between their rooms.

"Thanks for agreeing to come with us, Tag," Kara said. "It really means a lot, getting to spend time with my parents tomorrow."

"You're welcome, Kara." He let his gaze shift to Sage because she wasn't looking and then left.

Kara noticed the look but shrugged because she wasn't sure what it was for. She and Sage found a movie to watch then went to sleep because Kara had a full day ahead of her.

********************A&O********************

At eight the next morning Kara sat in the hotel lobby waiting for her parents to arrive. Sage sat with her while she waited and she knew Tag was watching them from the dining room area where he was enjoying the breakfast the hotel offered.

"Don't worry about anything, you just enjoy your time with your folks, okay?" Sage said.

"I feel bad leaving you to sit around the hotel room all day," Kara replied.

Sage laughed at that. "Oh, Kara, honey, I won't be sitting around the hotel room all day. There is shopping to be done!"

Kara laughed. "Oh, yeah, you do love to shop." She spotted her parents and stood. "They're here. See you back here tonight," she said and left. They would have breakfast together, then it was some sight seeing, a trip to the Missoula Art Museum, and since it was warm enough, they even went to Splash Montana. They had lunch in between all of that, then a visit to St. Francis Xavier Church simply because it was a gorgeous church, and dinner at The Silk Road, which specialized in Spanish and Asian cuisine.

********************A&O********************

While Kara was off with her parents Sage went shopping. Tag went along and found himself carrying bags... and enjoying himself, immensely. That surprised him. Okay, maybe the real enjoyment came from watching Sage light up over a piece of jewelry or some outfit that caught her eye. But still, he was enjoying shopping? If anyone ever found out he'd never live it down. They got dinner at a steakhouse near the hotel then waited for Kara's return.

"You know, it's kinda late evening, Kara doesn't have school tomorrow, why don't we just stay one more night and head back tomorrow?" Tag suggested once Kara was back as well.

"I don't see why not," Sage said after a moment. "If we go back tomorrow we can stop at the Farmer's Market along the way. I like that idea," she added.

"That's settled then, back up to the rooms," Tag said and ushered them to the elevator.

Sage laughed softly. "You just don't want to drive anymore today," she teased.

"You found me out," Tag replied with a grin that made Kara and Sage both laugh.

The trio watched a movie together in Sage and Kara's room. Tag stretched out on one of the beds while Kara and Sage shared the other. He stole glances at Sage periodically and when the movie was over he went to his own room so they could all get some sleep.

********************A&O********************

The drive back to Aspen Creek the next day was uneventful but Kara was still in a great mood thanks to getting to spend time with her parents. "Thank you guys, so much, for spending your weekend in Missoula just for me," she said as they pulled into Tag's drive to drop him off.

"Any time Kara. That's what your pack is here for," Tag told her. He waved them off and headed into his house.

"I think Tag likes you," Kara said once they were headed home.

Sage arched a brow at her. "What makes you think that?"

"Just... I don't know. Like, the way he looked at you back at the hotel when you weren't looking. I dunno, maybe I'm wrong."

Sage glanced at her. "Interesting." She would have to do a little thinking about that... and maybe a little digging.

As soon as they were back Kara was on the phone filling first SeoHyun and then Bronwyn in on all that she'd done the day before. It didn't make up for her parents neglecting her before, but it was a start. Sage just hoped they kept it up.


	7. Chapter Seven

**Disclaimer:** All cannon characters and settings belong to the brilliant mind of Patricia Briggs (and near the end of the chapter the creators of the character, Tommy, from Power Rangers). The rest comes solely from my imagination. This is written merely for my own pleasure and the pleasure of others. Also, I tend to get long-winded, so some of my chapters may be long, no, not may be, will be. You have been warned.

 **A/N:** Because this story is connected to SeoHyun's stories, written by Imaginationqueen87 (go read her stuff, she writes in a variety of areas!), I debated on continuing this story as is and decided this will be the last chapter. The reason for this is because Time to Grow, which is the story arc that SeoHyun's story is in, is an Alpha  & Omega/Power Rangers crossover which means this one needs to be as well. So the next arc will be titled Growing Up is About Change and it will be in the crossover section.

 **P.S.:** The brief description of the bedroom the girls share comes from Time To Grow. You did an awesome job with the description, Queen!

********************A&O********************

Something was wrong with SeoHyun, Kara could feel it. Ever since she'd come back from San Diego her best friend was withdrawn and fairly reclusive. "Sage? What's going on with SeoHyun?" She knew Bran had stopped by earlier, she'd seen him leaving when she came home from school, and she was pretty sure he'd been there to talk to Sage about SeoHyun. Besides, worrying about SeoHyun kept her mind off her **own** problems.

Sage thought about how to explain what Bran had shared with her and a select few others. She understood why he didn't want everyone to know the full details. "The trip to San Diego unsettled her. It dredged up some old feelings and memories she's trying to work through. I know you want to help her. All you can do is be there when she's ready to talk about it all."

Kara sighed. "Okay," she said but she **knew** there was more to it. She would have to wait until Sage was out of the house to go snooping though. She wasn't blind, she'd seen the piece of paper Bran had handed Sage. Her guardian didn't want to tell her everything, fine, she'd find out on her own.

********************A&O********************

Several days would pass before she'd get her chance. She was finishing up her research paper when Sage said she had to head into Troy for ink cartridges for her printer.

"Want to come with?" Sage asked.

"Nah, I need to finish this stupid paper," Kara replied. She didn't have to tell her all she had left to do was list her resources which would only take a few minutes.

"Alright, kiddo. Back in a bit," Sage said and left.

Kara waited until she was **sure** Sage was gone then went into her guardian's office. At least she didn't have to worry about her scent being where it shouldn't since she was in there often enough Sage wouldn't notice it. Still, she had to be careful to put everything back **exactly** the way she'd found it.

Kara checked the desk first but found nothing. Then she checked a stack of folders Sage had on a shelf. Still nothing. "Dang it! I know it has to be here," she hissed and turned to study the room. Something about the bookshelf across from her caught her eye and she moved to it. Sure enough, when she looked, she found a slip of paper pressed between two books. She pulled it out and her eyes widened when she read it. It was a song, written in SeoHyun's handwriting, and a soft growl escaped her. The only part of the song that was in English was the chorus and those words... they hurt Kara's heart to read. She wondered what the rest of it meant and wrote down some of the words on a sheet of copier paper before she put it back, made sure nothing was out of place, and left Sage's office the way she'd found it. The translator she managed to find online could only translate a few words and it wasn't enough to get the full meaning of the section she'd copied, but that was okay since the chorus spoke volumes. She needed to find her best friend and talk to her. She needed to know **why** SeoHyun felt the way she did and she needed to do it **now**.

Kara headed for the front door then stopped. If she didn't leave Sage a note her guardian would worry. 'Sage, went to go see SeoHyun since I finished my paper. Back in time for dinner- Kara'.

********************A&O********************

SeoHyun wasn't at home so Kara went in search of her. She found her in a little grove playing her guitar. Kara waited until she was done to approach her. "Hey. I've been looking for you."

SeoHyun looked embarrassed at being caught playing. "Hey. Really? Why?"

Kara moved to sit across from her. "You've been kind of distant and withdrawn since you came back from San Diego. I'm worried about you."

SeoHyun ducked her head a bit. "I didn't mean to worry you. I'm just... dealing with some stuff."

"You know you can talk to me, right?" Kara asked softly.

SeoHyun plucked at her guitar strings. "I know."

Kara sighed softly. "I have a confession to make. A few days ago, Bran gave Sage a piece of paper that she... hid in her office. I could tell it was serious and I figured it had something to do with you, why else would he be the one to bring it, right? Anyway, I asked about it but Sage wouldn't really tell me anything so... I went snooping. I read the chorus of that song you wrote. I tried to translate more of it but I could only translate a few words." She looked at her best friend and it was clear she was still bothered by what she'd read. "Is that really how you see yourself?"

SeoHyun wouldn't look at her. She didn't know if Kara could ever understand why she felt the way she did. She saw her friend as beautiful, no way did Kara have her insecurities, right? "It's.. there's so much involved, Kara." She bit her lip. She'd only recently told her da and grandda about what happened to her at the hands of the San Diego pack's second.

Kara smelled her friend's unease and scooted over to her. "It's okay. You don't have to talk about anything you don't want to. You're my best friend and I just want to make you see that you **are** beautiful. That you're special and awesome," she said and hugged her.

SeoHyun leaned her head on her friend's shoulder a moment before she came to a decision. "Wanna come back to the house? We can have cookies and talk."

"Sure," Kara replied. As they headed to SeoHyun's, Kara got the feeling that whatever SeoHyun had to tell her was going to be bad.

********************A&O********************

SeoHyun waited until they were in her room before she started to talk. Both her mom and her da were home so if, when, Kara freaked out they would be able to keep her from losing complete control. "After I was changed, they kept me locked in the safe room. For two months, I was told by several of them that I was such an ugly and unlovable thing I should have died instead of being changed. Everett, the alpha, he beat me but it was Mitchell... the pack's second... he..." She blinked back tears and couldn't look at her friend. "He would tell me I was pretty while he molested me and Everett knew it was happening, he let it happen."

Kara stared at SeoHyun. She'd known her best friend had gone through hell before she came there, she'd been so damaged when she joined the pack, but Kara had never in a million years expected that SeoHyun had been **sexually** abused. "He... molested you?" she growled. She shook with sudden rage. "That fucking **bastard** molested you and the alpha **let** him do it?" Her voice dropped to a deeper tone as her wolf began to take over. "Those sorry sons of bitches! They should have died slow, agonizing deaths. They should have been torn limb from limb for what they did to you!" The problem with being so young was that once your emotions rose it was harder to stay in control.

Charles and Anna both heard the growl in Kara's voice and headed for SeoHyun's room. By the time they got there Kara was already starting to shift.

SeoHyun had tucked herself in the corner away from Kara, not out of fear of her but out of concern that Kara might accidentally hurt her and then feel awful for it and berate herself, something SeoHyun didn't want her to do.

"SeoHyun, sweetie, come here," Anna said to her daughter and as soon as she reached them Anna took her out of the room. She would let her mate help Kara.

Charles moved to Kara's side. "Calm yourself," he said and put a bit of authority in the words. He couldn't stop her from shifting but he could keep her from losing control while Anna calmed their daughter down. "You will **not** lose control, do you hear me?"

A whine escaped Kara as she fell to all fours and fur began to flow. When the change was done she lay on the floor and panted. She lifted her gaze to her pack's second and the look she gave him was one full of contrition.

Charles knelt and when he was sure it was safe he ran his fingers through Kara's fur. "I know you didn't mean to lose control so much that you shifted. I even understand the anger that caused it. But the wolves who hurt her are dead. Knowing about what happened to her gives us the chance to help her heal," he said.

Kara yipped in understanding. She would do all she could to help her best friend and Goddess help anyone who ever tried to hurt her again.

********************A&O********************

Days passed. Then weeks. Then months. The longer her parents were away from Aspen Creek the less Kara saw of them. It seemed like every time they planned on her spending the weekend with them in Missoula something always happened to cause them to have to cancel on her. At first Kara understood. She was a little disappointed, sure, but she understood. As time went on, though, the understanding left and all she felt was hurt.

"Why don't they want me anymore?" Kara asked one night after yet another canceled weekend visit.

"I don't have any answers for you, Kara. Goddess knows I wish I did," Sage replied. She wanted to strangle Kara's parents for hurting her so much. "Some people just can't handle having a loved one who is a werewolf. I know that's not what you want to hear but it's the only answer I **do** have."

Kara hugged herself. "I didn't ask for this to happen to me. I don't understand why they're punishing me for it."

"Kara, honey, don't do this to yourself," Sage said and went to embrace her just to comfort her. "They're being idiots and the only ones in the wrong are them. They've hurt you and a parent should **never** do that to their child. You are a smart, talented, compassionate young woman and you deserve better than what you've been getting." It was time she got Bran involved. Maybe **he** could get through to Kara's parents.

********************A&O********************

"Bran, I need to talk to you." Sage entered her alpha's office after a quick knock on the door. "It's about Kara's parents," she added as she took a seat across the desk from him.

Bran closed the file on the computer he'd been reading and gave her his full attention. "What's happened?"

"They've spent very little time with her since the play and it's really starting to take a toll on her. She's hurting and I don't know how to fix it."

Bran watched Sage a moment. "I will see what I can do but you need to prepare her in case the rift between them cannot be bridged."

"Thank you. I'll try," she said and left.

Bran looked up the Beckworth's number in Missoula and dialed it. It was late evening, they should be home.

********************A&O********************

When Ellen saw the Aspen Creek number on the caller ID she frowned. It wasn't Kara calling, so who was it? "Hello?"

"Good evening, Mrs. Beckworth. This is Bran Cornick. Is your husband home?"

She started to say no but stopped. "Why do you want to speak with John?" she asked instead.

"Who is it, Ellen?" John asked in the background.

"Bran Cornick," was her reply.

There was a moment of shuffling and John was on the phone. "Good evening, Mr. Cornick. What can I do for you?"

"You can explain why you keep breaking your promises to Kara. Each time you tell her she can spend the weekend with you, and then you cancel on her, it tears her down. I know you love your daughter, I saw it at the play, so why are you breaking her heart?"

John closed his eyes a moment before he took the phone outside to talk without his wife overhearing. "It's Ellen. She's... uncomfortable around your kind. She's tried to remind herself that Kara is still our daughter, but so many things are different, and the way things were in the beginning, it's biased her. It kills me to keep canceling on Kara but I don't know what to do."

"You need to decide who is more important to you; your wife or your own flesh and blood. And you need to do it soon." With that Bran hung up.

John stared at the phone. Choose between them? How was he supposed to do that? The logical part of him knew Bran was right though. Kara deserved better and he was going to have to make a choice soon. Could he do it though? Could he throw all the years of marriage away? Standing on the back porch looking out at the mountains in the distance he realized that yes, he could, if Ellen couldn't get past her issues with werewolves. His little girl was more important.

********************A&O********************

"How time flies."

Kara was applying the last of the makeup she'd decided to wear that day when she heard Sage from the doorway. "What do you mean?" she asked curiously.

"You're graduating, you and SeoHyun both, and soon you'll be leaving the pack to join the Golden Gate one while you're away at college," Sage replied and approached her. "It doesn't seem like either of you should be old enough to go off to college."

Kara set the lipstick down and turned to face her. "I'll miss you too," she said and grinned a little. "Just think, you'll have your house all to yourself again," she added cheekily.

"True, I will, but I'd almost rather keep you here," Sage admitted. "You're the closest thing to a sister I've ever had. I'm so proud of you. You decided to graduate early and pushed yourself to make it happen. You've chosen to leave home, and join a different pack, in order to go to college when you could have stayed here and gone to school closer to home. You're growing up. You should be proud of yourself too, kiddo."

Kara sighed softly. "I am. I just... wish my parents were here to celebrate with me, you know? But I guess part of growing up is letting go of childhood dreams and facing reality. And change. It hurts because I love them so much but they're the ones who are missing out."

"That's right. They're missing out on the amazing woman you're becoming. They'll regret it one day," Sage replied and hugged her.

********************A&O********************

They headed to the school and the closer they got the more excited Kara became. In just a short while she was going to be a high school graduate. In just a few weeks she would be going off to college in San Francisco. She couldn't believe it. Sure she was going to have a ton of student loans to pay pack (her bestie lucked out and was going to school on a full scholarship) but it was going to be worth it. The only thing she wasn't looking forward to was the banishment ceremony. That was going to suck, she just knew it. She slid out of the car and froze when she saw a familiar SUV. As soon as her father got out of the driver's side she squealed and ran to him. "Daddy!"

********************A&O********************

John Beckworth had made his decision. When Ellen continued to come up with excuses to avoid their daughter, even on her graduation day, he knew what he had to do. "I am going to go watch my daughter walk across the stage to get her diploma and then beg her to forgive me for hurting her. When I come back I'll be packing my bags. I love you, Ellen, but I'm done with this attitude towards Kara. She's our daughter. She didn't ask for what's happened to her and I'll be damned if I'll abandon her anymore," he said and left.

********************A&O********************

"There's my girl," John said when Kara threw herself in his arms. "I'm so sorry, pumpkin, for everything. Things will be better from now on, I promise," he added and hugged her close.

Sage wanted to be snide but she bit her tongue because this wasn't about her. She wasn't the one with the wounded heart, Kara was. "Hello, John. Glad you could make it."

"Thank you, Miss Carhardt. And thank you for sending the invitation so I knew when it was."

"You're welcome. I know having you here means a lot to Kara," Sage replied.

"Where's mom?" Kara asked when she realized her father was alone.

"She... didn't come," was his reply.

Kara swallowed. "Oh." What else could she say? At least her father was there.

Tag joined them when they reached the doors leading into the outer chamber of the auditorium. He and Sage were tentatively dating but he was there mainly for Kara. "Look at you, all grown up. Seems like only yesterday you were a little bit, all wide-eyed and nervous finding out about packs for the first time. Now you're a confident young woman ready to make he mark on the world," he said before he gave Kara a hug.

Kara laughed at being called a 'little bit'. "Well, I'm still little, height-wise anyway," she said cheekily.

"True enough short stuff," Tag countered.

Sage shook her head at their playful banter. "We should let you get inside with the others and find our seats," she told Kara and then she, Tag, and John went to the front of the auditorium while Kara headed backstage with her fellow seniors.

"You ready to do this?"

Kara turned at the voice. "Hey, Riley. Yeah, I am. It's hard to believe we're graduating." They'd dated for a little while but over time they realized their feelings were more those of friends.

"Tell me about it. This year flew by," he replied.

"Speaking of flying, a little birdie told me you got into Hanover College," Kara said as she moved to where everyone was lining up.

Riley followed her. "Yeah. They've got one of the best geology programs. I wasn't sure I'd get in but I did."

"Indiana is going to be a big change from Montana," she pointed out.

"Not nearly as big a change as Frisco," Riley countered. "At least SeoHyun has lived in a big city before, so she'll probably have an easier time adjusting... although I'm sure her wolf won't like it much."

"Mine either," Kara said and wrinkled her nose. "You've got a good point though. Anyway, see you after the ceremony," she added and moved further up the line. She stopped where SeoHyun and Bronwyn stood and hugged them both. "We did it. A whole new chapter of life is opening up for us," she said to SeoHyun.

"I know. It's a little scary," SeoHyun admitted.

"A little scary, hell, it's a lot scary, but we can do this," Kara said with a grin then took her place.

The ceremony itself was simple. Each name was called and the small class of twenty walked across the stage, shook hands with the principal, and got their diploma. Then it was over. There were hugs all around and SeoHyun, Kara, and Bronwyn made plans to meet up later after celebrating with their families.

"I'd like to take you to dinner to celebrate your graduation," John told his daughter. "Just the two of us. I don't mean to offend, Miss Carhardt, I would just like to have some quality time with my daughter."

"No offense taken. Please, call me Sage. I think some quality father-daughter time is exactly what you both need," Sage replied.

Kara thanked her guardian and followed her father to his SUV. She removed her graduation gown, folded it up, and put it in the back before she got in. "Why didn't mom come with you?" she asked once they were on their way to Troy where they would have dinner.

"That's part of why I wanted to take you to dinner, pumpkin, to talk about that. Your mom, she just... can't cope with what's happened. I don't know if she'll ever get over it or not, but as of right now, she and I are separating because I refuse to let her insane fear and bias keep me from my daughter any more. I know it's hurt you every time we canceled on you and I will never fully forgive myself for doing that to you, Kara. You didn't ask to be attacked and you're trying to make the best of it. We should do no less. Besides, you're still my little girl, you always will be no matter how old you get. I'm so sorry I let you get hurt, honey."

Kara shifted in her seat to look at her father."It's okay, daddy. You had a lot to deal with too and mom put you in a bad spot where you were torn between honoring your vows and supporting your daughter. I just wish I'd known about it before, it would have made things a little easier to understand," she said.

"God, you sound so grown up right now. I'm so proud of you, you know. You were handed a raw deal and you pushed through every roadblock to come out on top. And now you're going off to college. Are you sure you really want to go all the way to California?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure daddy. This is what I want." It was funny, she called her mother 'mom' but her father was still 'daddy'. He probably always would be.

"I will support you in every way I can," he promised.

Kara felt tears in her eyes and blinked several times to clear her vision. "Thanks daddy," she said as they pulled into a parking spot at one of her favorite restaurants; Maggianos Little Italy.

Over dinner Kara told her father about her goals and why she was going to San Francisco. Part of it **was** because it was where SeoHyun was going and she wanted to keep her friend safe, but part of it was also because the college she was going to had an excellent business program. "Besides, I always wanted to see the San Francisco Bay," she added.

John laughed at that. "True, you've talked about that ever since you were a little girl. Once you get settled I'll come visit," John promised his daughter. He would make an effort to be in her life as much as he could.

"Alright daddy, I'll hold you to that," Kara told him.

Throughout the meal they avoided talking about the situation between her parents. "Daddy? Are you and mom going to get divorced?" Kara asked as they headed back to Aspen Creek.

"Honestly, pumpkin, I don't know. I love your mother but I can't abide by her bigotry anymore. I hope she finds a way to come to terms but if not... we'll just have to see what happens." The one secret he'd never told his daughter was that Ellen wasn't her biological mother. Her biological mother had died in childbirth and he'd met Ellen when Kara was only a few months old. They'd had a whirlwind romance and were married by the time Kara turned one. Ellen was the only mother she'd ever known. He knew he would have to tell her one day but for now he continued to keep that secret locked inside.

When they got back to Aspen Creek, John hugged his daughter tight, reminded her he was proud of her, and headed back to Missoula. Kara watched her father go with a faint smile on her face. There was hope in her heart that the relationship with her father was able to be fixed and it lightened her mood as she turned her attention to the future.

********************A&O********************

The day they were to travel to San Francisco arrived and Kara was both excited and nervous. Not as nervous as SeoHyun who couldn't stop fidgeting but still. Watching her bestie she thought about what was ahead of them. She'd gone to Bran and begged him to not let SeoHyun go too long without a pack to support her. She'd been a lone wolf for the first three years after her change, she could handle going a day or two without a pack if she had to, but she feared it would crush her best friend. SeoHyun was still so fragile in so many ways. She of course had no idea Bran had **already** decided on that, even though she should have realized it, but the Marrok humored her and agreed.

They were met at a small airstrip and driven to the home of the Golden Gate Pack's alpha, Thomas Oliver. Kara watched as Bran performed the banishment ceremony on SeoHyun. She felt the jolt of pain as SeoHyun was removed from the pack bonds but she knew what she felt was nothing compared to what her best friend was feeling. When SeoHyun crumbled she had to force herself to stay put. Charles was there comforting her, SeoHyun was in good hands. Besides, it was her turn to be banished. The pain of losing the pack was sharp and she gasped, even stumbled a little, but at the questioning look on Bran's face she straightened her shoulders and gave a faint nod to assure him she was fine.

On the flight to Frisco they were both given quite a bit of information about their new alpha, including the fact that since he was fairly young he wasn't as big on fromalities as some of the older werewolves were. Because her bestie went the formal route with her request Kara decided to do the opposite. "Can I join your pack, Tommy?" she asked. The grin she gave him was a watered down version of her usual cheeky one because she was still adjusting to being alone in her head for the first time in years. "I'd be okay if I had to wait longer," she told him when he informed her she'd only have to be a lone wolf for the night.

"I'm sure you would, but I'd rather integrate you as soon as possible so tomorrow morning it is," Tommy replied.

Kara watched as SeoHyun was brought into the Golden Gate Pack and a tightness in her chest eased when she saw her visibly relax. SeoHyun was safe, even if it **was** hard for her to watch her father and grandfather leave to go back to Aspen Creek. As soon as SeoHyun came back into the house Kara hugged her tight and held her as she cried. Until Tommy took over, anyway. He was SeoHyun's alpha and for the moment Kara wasn't even pack. He could help her a lot better in that moment than Kara could.

The highlight of their first day in San Francisco was being shown to the room they would share. The beds were set so the head of one was at a ninety degree angle to the other with a table to fill the space between them. The sheets had tiny white dots on a black background with pillows of black, white, and mint green piled on the beds. On one bed, one of the green pillows held an S for SeoHyun while one on the other bed had a K for Kara. Against the side of each bed was a mint green cushion that was set up like a chair so they could sit and gossip, do homework, or whatever they wanted to do.

"It's perfect!" Kara declared and after a moment SeoHyun admitted she loved it too. Then they were left alone to unpack and get settled in. That night, after SeoHyun had fallen asleep, Kara laid there with the silence in her head and wondered what her new pack was going to be like. One thing was for sure, the next four years were bound to be interesting.


End file.
